SSC
Who was the captain of the Indian men's hockey team at the 1936 Berlin Olympics?
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Answer: Option C — Dhyan Chand
Detailed Solution
Major Dhyan Chand captained the Indian men's hockey team at the 1936 Berlin Olympics in Germany. Under his leadership, India won its third consecutive Olympic hockey gold medal.
India at the 1936 Berlin Olympics:
India won all its matches and scored many goals while conceding very few.
In the final, played on 15 August 1936, India defeated the host nation Germany 8-1. Dhyan Chand scored three goals in the final, according to most accounts, and is said to have played part of the match barefoot to get a better grip on the wet ground.
According to a popular story, Adolf Hitler was so impressed by Dhyan Chand's skill that he offered him a high rank in the German army, which Dhyan Chand politely declined. The story is widely told but not firmly documented.
Dhyan Chand also carried the Indian flag at the opening ceremony.
India's Olympic hockey golds before independence:
- 1928 Amsterdam: captain Jaipal Singh Munda (Eric Pinniger led in the final).
- 1932 Los Angeles: captain Lal Shah Bokhari.
- 1936 Berlin: captain Dhyan Chand.
About Dhyan Chand:
He was born on 29 August 1905 in Allahabad (now Prayagraj). He is called "The Wizard" (Jadugar) of hockey for his extraordinary ball control. He scored over 400 goals in his career.
He received the Padma Bhushan in 1956.
His birthday, 29 August, is celebrated as National Sports Day in India.
India's highest sporting honour was renamed the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award in 2021.
His younger brother Roop Singh was also a great player in the 1932 and 1936 teams.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Jaipal Singh Munda captained India at the 1928 Olympics.
- ✗Lal Shah Bokhari captained India at the 1932 Olympics.
- ✗Roop Singh was Dhyan Chand's brother and team-mate, not the captain.
Quick tip
Remember: Olympic hockey captains: 1928 = Jaipal Singh Munda, 1932 = Lal Shah Bokhari, 1936 = Dhyan Chand (final: India 8, Germany 1).
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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.