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Question 28 of 325 · Sports
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Who was the first Indian footballer to receive the Arjuna Award?

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Answer: Option B — P. K. Banerjee

Detailed Solution

  • Banerjee. Pradip Kumar Banerjee (1936-2020), popularly known as P. K. Banerjee or "PK", became the first Indian footballer to receive the Arjuna Award, in 1961, the very first year the award was given.

About P. K. Banerjee:

  • He was born in Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, and played as a right winger (forward).
  • He played for India in two Olympics, Melbourne 1956 (where India reached the semi-finals and finished fourth) and Rome 1960 (where he captained the team and scored against France).
  • He was part of the Indian team that won the gold medal in football at the 1962 Asian Games in Jakarta, scoring in the final against South Korea.
  • He played 84 international matches for India and scored about 65 goals (including unofficial matches).
  • After retiring as a player, he became one of India's most successful football coaches, coaching the national team and famous Kolkata clubs such as East Bengal and Mohun Bagan.
  • He received the Padma Shri in 1990.
  • In 2004, FIFA awarded him its "Centennial Order of Merit", the highest honour given by FIFA.
  • He died in March 2020.

About the Arjuna Award:

  • It was instituted in 1961 by the Government of India to recognise outstanding achievement in sports.
  • The award includes a bronze statuette of Arjuna, a certificate and a cash prize (now Rs 15 lakh).
  • It is given by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.

India's golden era in football (1950s-60s) was under coach Syed Abdul Rahim, with stars such as P. K. Banerjee, Chuni Goswami, Tulsidas Balaram and Jarnail Singh. India won the Asian Games gold in 1951 and 1962.

Why not the other options?

  • ✗Chuni Goswami captained India to the 1962 Asian Games gold and received the Arjuna Award in 1963.
  • ✗Sailen Manna captained India at the 1952 Olympics.
  • ✗Bhaichung Bhutia received the Arjuna Award in 1998.

Quick tip

Remember: First footballer with the Arjuna Award = P. K. Banerjee (1961); 1962 Asian Games gold; FIFA Centennial Order of Merit (2004); Arjuna Award instituted 1961.

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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.

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