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Question 24 of 325 · Sports
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Who was the first Indian to win two gold medals at the Paralympic Games?

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Answer: Option C — Devendra Jhajharia

Detailed Solution

Devendra Jhajharia, a javelin thrower from Churu district, Rajasthan, became the first Indian to win two gold medals at the Paralympic Games.

His Paralympic medals:

  • Gold at the 2004 Athens Paralympics in the men's javelin throw (F44/46), with a world record throw of 62.15 m.
  • Gold at the 2016 Rio Paralympics in the men's javelin throw (F46), with a new world record of 63.97 m.
  • Silver at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics (held in 2021) in the men's javelin throw (F46).

About Devendra Jhajharia:

  • At the age of eight, he accidentally touched a live electric cable while climbing a tree, and his left hand had to be amputated.
  • He took up javelin throwing in school and trained hard despite his disability.
  • He was the first Paralympian to receive the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna (now the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna), in 2017.
  • He received the Padma Shri in 2012, becoming the first Paralympian to be honoured with it, and the Padma Bhushan in 2022, also the first Paralympian to receive it.

India at the Paralympics:

  • India first took part in the Paralympics in 1968 (Tel Aviv).
  • Murlikant Petkar won India's first Paralympic medal, a gold in swimming, in 1972 (Heidelberg).
  • Mariyappan Thangavelu won gold in high jump in 2016 and medals in 2020 and 2024.

Sumit Antil won javelin gold at both Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024, also becoming a double Paralympic gold medallist. Avani Lekhara also won gold in shooting at both Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024.

India's best performance was at Paris 2024, with 29 medals (7 gold, 9 silver and 13 bronze).

Why not the other options?

  • ✗Mariyappan Thangavelu won one gold (2016) along with silver and bronze medals.
  • ✗Murlikant Petkar won India's first Paralympic gold (1972).
  • ✗Sumit Antil won two javelin golds (2020 and 2024), after Jhajharia had already done so.

Quick tip

Remember: First Indian with two Paralympic golds = Devendra Jhajharia (javelin, Athens 2004 and Rio 2016); first Paralympian Khel Ratna (2017) and Padma Bhushan (2022); first gold = Murlikant Petkar (1972).

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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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