SSC
Mallakhamb is the state sport of which state?
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Answer: Option C — Madhya Pradesh
Detailed Solution
In April 2013, the Government of Madhya Pradesh declared Mallakhamb its state sport.
What is Mallakhamb?
Mallakhamb is a traditional Indian sport in which a gymnast performs aerial yoga postures, holds, balances and wrestling grips on a vertical wooden pole or a hanging rope. The name comes from "malla" (wrestler) and "khamb" (pole), meaning "wrestler's pole", because it was originally used by wrestlers to train their grip, strength and agility.
There are three main forms:
- Pole Mallakhamb: performed on a fixed vertical wooden pole, usually made of sheesham (Indian rosewood) and about 2.6 m tall, smeared with castor oil.
- Hanging Mallakhamb: performed on a shorter pole hanging from hooks and chains, which swings during the routine.
- Rope Mallakhamb: performed on a hanging cotton rope; this form is especially popular among girls and women.
History:
- References to the sport are found in the 12th-century text "Manasollasa" written by the Chalukya king Someshvara III.
- It was revived in the early 19th century by Balambhatt Dada Deodhar, a fitness trainer at the court of the Peshwa Bajirao II in Pune.
- Mallakhamb was demonstrated at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by an Indian team.
- The Mallakhamb Federation of India was set up in 1981, and the first Mallakhamb World Championship was held in Mumbai in 2019.
Madhya Pradesh (especially Ujjain) and Maharashtra are the main centres of Mallakhamb today. It is also included in the Khelo India Youth Games.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Maharashtra is the birthplace of the modern sport but has not named it a state sport in the same way.
- ✗Karnataka is known for Kambala, the buffalo race.
- ✗Gujarat is not associated with Mallakhamb as a state sport.
Quick tip
Remember: Mallakhamb = state sport of Madhya Pradesh (2013); "wrestler's pole"; pole, hanging and rope forms; revived by Balambhatt Dada Deodhar; first World Championship 2019 (Mumbai).
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Sports — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Sports, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers sports GK: major tournaments and their venues, trophies and cups associated with each sport, sports terms, the number of players in a team, sports awards in India, Olympic and Asian Games facts, and famous sportspersons and their achievements. Common questions ask which sport a trophy belongs to (such as the Durand Cup for football or the Ranji Trophy for cricket), which term is used in which sport, and where a tournament was held. Records and results change after every season, so pair static facts such as team sizes and terms with recent results from current affairs. Practise the sports questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.