SSC
The All England Open Badminton Championships were first held in:
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Answer: Option B — 1899
Detailed Solution
The All England Open Badminton Championships were first held in 1899 in London, organised by the Badminton Association of England. It is the oldest badminton tournament in the world, and before the World Championships began in 1977, it was regarded as the unofficial world championship of badminton.
Key facts about the tournament:
The first edition in 1899 had only doubles events; singles events were added in 1900.
It was originally called the All England Badminton Championships. It became an "Open" event in 1980, allowing professionals to compete.
It is now held at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham, England, usually in March, and is part of the BWF World Tour (Super 1000 level), the highest level of tournament below the World Championships.
Indian winners of the All England singles title:
Prakash Padukone (1980): the first Indian to win the All England men's singles title.
Pullela Gopichand (2001): the second Indian to win it. He later became the chief national coach and founded the Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad.
No Indian woman has yet won the singles title. Saina Nehwal (2015) and Lakshya Sen (2022) reached the final but lost.
Badminton history in brief:
- The modern game developed from "Poona", a game played by British army officers in India in the 1860s-70s.
- The name "badminton" comes from Badminton House, the Duke of Beaufort's estate in England, where it was played in 1873.
- The Badminton World Federation (BWF) was founded in 1934 (as IBF), and badminton became an Olympic sport in 1992.
Why not the other options?
- ✗1877 is the year the first Wimbledon tennis championship was held.
- ✗1934 is the year the International Badminton Federation (now BWF) was founded.
- ✗1949 is the year of the first Thomas Cup.
Quick tip
Remember: All England Championships = 1899, oldest badminton tournament; Indian men's singles winners = Prakash Padukone (1980) and Pullela Gopichand (2001).
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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.