SSC
Which medal did the Indian men's hockey team win at the 1972 Munich Olympics?
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Answer: Option D — Bronze
Detailed Solution
At the 1972 Munich Olympics in West Germany, the Indian men's hockey team won the bronze medal. India lost to Pakistan 2-0 in the semi-final and then defeated the Netherlands 2-1 in the bronze medal match.
The 1972 Olympic hockey tournament:
- West Germany won the gold medal by defeating Pakistan 1-0 in the final.
- Pakistan won the silver medal.
- India's captain was Harmik Singh.
India's Olympic hockey medals:
Gold (8): 1928 Amsterdam, 1932 Los Angeles, 1936 Berlin, 1948 London, 1952 Helsinki, 1956 Melbourne, 1964 Tokyo and 1980 Moscow.
Silver (1): 1960 Rome, when India lost the final to Pakistan 1-0. This ended India's run of six straight golds.
Bronze (4): 1968 Mexico City, 1972 Munich, 2020 Tokyo (held in 2021) and 2024 Paris.
After the 1980 Moscow gold (won when many teams boycotted the Games), India did not win an Olympic hockey medal for 41 years, until the Tokyo bronze in 2021, under captain Manpreet Singh. India won bronze again in Paris 2024 under captain Harmanpreet Singh.
Why 1972 is remembered:
- The 1972 Munich Olympics are also remembered for the tragic attack on Israeli athletes by a Palestinian militant group, in which 11 Israeli team members were killed.
- They were the first Olympics with an official mascot, the dachshund "Waldi".
Indian hockey at other events:
- India won the Hockey World Cup in 1975, silver in 1973 and bronze in 1971.
- Synthetic turf, first used at the 1976 Olympics, changed hockey and is often said to have hurt India's traditional style.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Gold: India's last Olympic gold was in 1980.
- ✗Silver: India's only silver was in 1960.
- ✗No medal: India did win a medal in 1972; its first medal-less Olympics in hockey was 1976.
Quick tip
Remember: Indian hockey at Munich 1972 = bronze (beat Netherlands); bronzes = 1968, 1972, 2020, 2024; silver = 1960; last gold = 1980.
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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.