Sports — Championships, Trophies and Terminology
Free study material · concepts, shortcuts & solved questions
Why Sports GK Matters for SSC GD and RPF Constable
Sports and games form a small but scoring section in the SSC GD Constable and RPF Constable General Awareness papers. Questions are usually direct and factual — which trophy belongs to which sport, how many players make up a team, what a particular sporting term means, or the purpose of a national sports award. Because RPF sits under the Ministry of Railways and railway sports culture (especially hockey, athletics and kabaddi) has historical weight, this chapter also gives extra attention to sports with a railway connection. Read this chapter as a reference table you revise close to the exam rather than material you need to memorise in one sitting.
Major International Multi-Sport Events
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games were revived by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, a French educationist, and the first modern edition was held in Athens in 1896. The Games are organised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. The Summer and Winter Olympics are each held once every four years, and since 1994 they have been staggered two years apart from each other. The Olympic motto is "Citius, Altius, Fortius" (Faster, Higher, Stronger), and a fourth word — "Communiter" (Together) — was added in 2021. The five interlocking rings on the Olympic flag represent the five inhabited continents joined by Olympism, and every national flag in the world contains at least one of the five ring colours (blue, yellow, black, green, red) on a white background.
The Paralympic Games, for athletes with physical disabilities, are held right after the Olympics in the same host city and are governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). The Youth Olympic Games, for athletes aged 15 to 18, were first held in Singapore in 2010.
Asian Games
The Asian Games are a continental multi-sport event held every four years and administered by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA). The first Asian Games were held in New Delhi in 1951. India has hosted the Asian Games twice — 1951 and 1982, both in New Delhi. The Asian Games are sometimes called the "Asiad."
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games bring together athletes from countries that were once part of the British Empire and are now members of the Commonwealth of Nations. Earlier called the British Empire Games, they are held every four years and are organised by the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF). India hosted the Commonwealth Games in 2010 in New Delhi.
South Asian Games
The South Asian Games are held among the SAARC nations and are organised by the South Asian Olympic Council. India has hosted this event multiple times, including in Guwahati and Shillong in 2016.
Trophies and Cups — Matching with Sports
A recurring question type asks the candidate to match a trophy or cup with its sport. The table below lists the most frequently asked ones.
| Trophy / Cup | Sport |
|---|---|
| Ryder Cup | Golf (Europe vs USA, men's team event) |
| Davis Cup | Tennis (men's international team event) |
| Fed Cup / Billie Jean King Cup | Tennis (women's international team event) |
| Wimbledon Trophy | Tennis (oldest Grand Slam, played on grass at the All England Club) |
| FIFA World Cup | Football |
| Jules Rimet Trophy | Football (original FIFA World Cup trophy, now retired) |
| Champions League Trophy | Football (European club competition) |
| Durand Cup | Football (oldest football tournament in Asia, held in India) |
| Santosh Trophy | Football (Indian national football championship for states) |
| Subroto Cup | Football (school-level tournament, India) |
| ICC Cricket World Cup | Cricket (One Day International format) |
| The Ashes | Cricket (Test series between England and Australia) |
| Ranji Trophy | Cricket (Indian domestic first-class championship) |
| Duleep Trophy | Cricket (Indian domestic, zonal teams) |
| Irani Trophy | Cricket (Ranji Trophy champions vs Rest of India) |
| Vijay Hazare Trophy | Cricket (Indian domestic One-Day tournament) |
| Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy | Cricket (Indian domestic T20 tournament) |
| Deodhar Trophy | Cricket (Indian domestic limited-overs, zonal/select teams) |
| Thomas Cup | Badminton (men's team event) |
| Uber Cup | Badminton (women's team event) |
| Sudirman Cup | Badminton (mixed team event) |
| Swaythling Cup | Table Tennis (men's team world championship) |
| Corbillon Cup | Table Tennis (women's team world championship) |
| Merdeka Cup | Football (international tournament held in Malaysia) |
| Asia Cup | Cricket (continental tournament for Asian teams) |
| Rugby World Cup / Webb Ellis Cup | Rugby Union |
| America's Cup | Yachting / Sailing |
| FA Cup | Football (English domestic knockout competition) |
| Stanley Cup | Ice Hockey (North America, NHL championship) |
| Champions Trophy (Hockey) | Field Hockey |
| Azlan Shah Cup | Field Hockey (invitational tournament in Malaysia) |
| Beighton Cup | Field Hockey (one of the oldest hockey tournaments in India, Kolkata) |
| Agha Khan Cup | Field Hockey |
| Rovers Cup | Football (Mumbai, one of India's oldest football tournaments) |
| DGC Trophy / Federation Cup | Football / Athletics (name varies by sport) |
| McDowell Cup / Cooch Behar Trophy | Cricket (Indian schools/junior cricket) |
Sports Terminology
SSC and RRB papers often test whether a candidate knows the vocabulary of a sport — this is one of the fastest sections to revise because terms rarely change.
Cricket
- Googly — a leg-spinner's delivery that turns the opposite way to what the batter expects.
- Yorker — a fast delivery pitched right at the batter's feet, near the base of the stumps.
- Duck — a batter dismissed without scoring; a "golden duck" means out on the first ball faced.
- Maiden Over — an over in which no runs are scored off the bat.
- Hat-trick — a bowler taking three wickets on three consecutive deliveries.
- Silly Point, Gully, Slip, Cover, Mid-on, Mid-off, Square Leg — standard fielding positions.
- Follow-on — in Test cricket, a team forced to bat again immediately after being dismissed well short of the opponent's total.
- Powerplay — designated overs in limited-overs cricket with fielding restrictions.
Football
- Hat-trick — three goals by one player in a single match.
- Off-side — a rule preventing an attacking player from being nearer the goal line than the ball and the second-last defender when the ball is played to them.
- Penalty Kick — a direct free kick from the penalty spot, awarded for a foul inside the penalty area.
- Extra Time — additional playing time when a knockout match is tied after regulation time.
- Golden Goal / Sudden Death — a discontinued rule where the first goal in extra time ended the match.
Badminton
- Smash — a powerful, steeply angled downward shot.
- Let — a call to replay a point due to an unforeseen interruption.
- Rally — a continuous exchange of shots between players.
- Deuce — a scoring situation where both sides need to win by a two-point margin.
Tennis
- Ace — a serve that the opponent fails to touch.
- Love — a score of zero.
- Grand Slam — winning all four majors (Australian Open, French Open/Roland Garros, Wimbledon, US Open) in the same calendar year; also used loosely for the four majors themselves.
- Break Point — a point that, if won by the receiver, wins the game against the server.
Hockey
- Bully — an old method of restarting play in field hockey, now replaced by the free hit in most situations.
- Penalty Corner — awarded for a foul by defenders inside the circle or for specific offences near the goal.
- Penalty Stroke — a direct attempt at goal from a fixed spot, similar in spirit to a football penalty.
Boxing and Wrestling
- Bout — a boxing or wrestling contest.
- Clinch — when boxers hold onto each other to prevent punches.
- Technical Knockout (TKO) — a stoppage when a boxer cannot safely continue.
- Freestyle and Greco-Roman — the two Olympic wrestling styles; Greco-Roman prohibits holds below the waist.
Chess
- Checkmate — a position where the king is under attack (in check) with no legal move to escape, ending the game.
- Stalemate — a position where a player has no legal move but the king is not in check, resulting in a draw.
- Grandmaster — the highest title a chess player can achieve, awarded by FIDE (the International Chess Federation).
- Zugzwang — a situation where any move a player makes worsens their position.
Athletics
- Decathlon — a men's combined event of ten track and field disciplines over two days.
- Heptathlon — a women's combined event of seven disciplines.
- Steeplechase — a distance race with barriers and a water jump.
- Relay — a team race where a baton is passed between runners, commonly 4x100m and 4x400m.
- Photo Finish — a very close finish decided using photographic timing equipment.
Team Sizes — A Quick Reference
| Sport | Players per Side (on field) |
|---|---|
| Cricket | 11 |
| Football | 11 |
| Field Hockey | 11 |
| Kabaddi | 7 |
| Kho-Kho | 9 |
| Volleyball | 6 |
| Basketball | 5 |
| Handball | 7 |
| Rugby Union | 15 |
| Water Polo | 7 |
| Baseball | 9 |
Kabaddi and Kho-Kho deserve special attention because they are indigenous Indian games that regularly appear in this exam. Kabaddi is a contact team sport where a "raider" enters the opponent's half, tags defenders, and must return to their own half while chanting "kabaddi" continuously in a single breath. It was included in the Asian Games from 1990. Kho-Kho is a chasing and tag sport played on a rectangular field with two poles at either end; it is entirely indigenous to India and features prominently in school and rural sports programmes.
National and International Sports Bodies
| Body | Full Form / Role |
|---|---|
| IOC | International Olympic Committee — governs the Olympic Movement, headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland |
| OCA | Olympic Council of Asia — governs the Asian Games |
| CGF | Commonwealth Games Federation — governs the Commonwealth Games |
| FIFA | Fédération Internationale de Football Association — world football's governing body, headquartered in Zurich |
| ICC | International Cricket Council — world cricket's governing body, headquartered in Dubai |
| BCCI | Board of Control for Cricket in India — governs cricket in India, headquartered in Mumbai |
| AIFF | All India Football Federation — governs football in India |
| BFI | Badminton Federation of India / Badminton Association of India |
| BWF | Badminton World Federation |
| FIDE | Fédération Internationale des Échecs — world chess federation |
| IHF | Indian Hockey Federation (historical); Hockey India is the current recognised body |
| FIH | International Hockey Federation — world governing body for field and indoor hockey |
| WWE / UWW | United World Wrestling — governs Olympic wrestling internationally |
| SAI | Sports Authority of India — the apex national sports body promoting sports development in India, under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports |
| IOA | Indian Olympic Association — India's national Olympic committee |
National Sports Awards of India
These awards are given by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, typically presented around National Sports Day, 29 August, which marks the birth anniversary of hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand.
Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award
This is India's highest sporting honour, given for the most spectacular and outstanding performance in the field of sports over a period of four years. It was originally instituted as the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 1991-92 and was renamed the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna in 2021 to honour the legendary hockey player known as "The Wizard" for his extraordinary stick control. The award carries a medal, a certificate and a cash prize, and can be given to individuals as well as, in team sports, to a team.
Arjuna Award
Instituted in 1961, the Arjuna Award recognises consistent outstanding performance in a sport over the preceding four years, along with qualities of leadership, discipline and a sense of sportsmanship. It is one of the oldest and most widely known sports honours in India and is given across a broad range of Olympic, indigenous, and para-sports disciplines.
Dronacharya Award
Named after Dronacharya, the guru of the Pandavas and Kauravas in the Mahabharata, this award (instituted 1985) honours coaches who have produced medal-winning performances at the international level. It underlines that behind every successful athlete stands a coach, and it recognises long-term contribution to training and nurturing sporting talent.
Dhyan Chand Award
Instituted in 2002 (originally as a separate lifetime achievement award, distinct from the later renaming of the Khel Ratna), this award recognises lifetime contribution to sports development, including performances before retirement and contribution to the sport after retirement.
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy
Awarded to the best overall performing university in inter-university tournaments, named after India's first Education Minister, who is also remembered through National Education Day observed on his birthday, 11 November.
Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar
Given to corporate entities, government departments, and sports promotion boards for their contribution towards the development and promotion of sports.
Indian Sporting Legends Worth Remembering
- Major Dhyan Chand — regarded as one of the greatest hockey players in history; helped India win Olympic hockey gold in 1928, 1932 and 1936.
- Milkha Singh — known as "The Flying Sikh," a legendary Indian athlete and Asian Games gold medallist in the 400m.
- P. T. Usha — celebrated Indian sprinter, known as the "Payyoli Express," who narrowly missed an Olympic bronze in the 1984 Los Angeles Games.
- Vishwanathan Anand — India's first Grandmaster in chess and a five-time World Chess Champion.
- Kapil Dev — captained India to its first Cricket World Cup title in 1983.
- Sachin Tendulkar — widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in cricket history; first recipient of the Bharat Ratna among sportspersons.
- Dara Singh — legendary Indian wrestler and one of the first Indian sportspersons to gain global recognition in professional wrestling.
Sports and the Railways
Railway sportspersons have a long and distinguished record in Indian sport, particularly in hockey and athletics, since Indian Railways has traditionally run some of the strongest departmental sports teams in the country through the Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB). Many Olympians and Arjuna Award winners have been employed with the Railways, which recruits sportspersons under special sports quota schemes. This is a useful current-affairs-adjacent link for RPF aspirants, since RPF itself, being a railway security force, regularly participates in departmental and inter-force sporting events, and RPF personnel with sporting achievements are sometimes recruited or recognised through sports quota channels within Indian Railways.
More Sports Terminology
Golf
- Par — the standard number of strokes a skilled golfer should need to complete a hole.
- Birdie — completing a hole in one stroke less than par.
- Eagle — completing a hole in two strokes less than par.
- Bogey — completing a hole in one stroke more than par.
- Handicap — a numerical measure of a golfer's playing ability used to level competition.
- Caddie — a person who carries a golfer's clubs and offers advice during play.
Swimming
- Freestyle, Backstroke, Breaststroke, Butterfly — the four competitive swimming strokes; the medley combines all four.
- Individual Medley (IM) — a race in which a single swimmer uses all four strokes in sequence.
Shooting and Archery
- Bullseye — the centre of a target, the highest-scoring zone.
- Recurve and Compound — the two main categories of competitive bow used in archery.
Paralympic and Deaflympic Movements
The Paralympic Games are held for athletes with a range of physical impairments and follow the same host city as the Olympics, usually a couple of weeks after the Olympic closing ceremony. Events are organised in classification categories to ensure fair competition among athletes with comparable levels of impairment. The Deaflympics, a separate multi-sport event for deaf athletes organised by the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD), is one of the oldest organised multi-sport events, with its first edition held in Paris in 1924, predating the Paralympic movement itself. Indian athletes have brought back medals from the Paralympics in disciplines such as javelin throw, badminton, shooting and athletics, reflecting the steady growth of Indian para-sport infrastructure over the past two decades.
India's Sporting Infrastructure and Talent Pipeline
Beyond the Sports Authority of India, the government runs several schemes to identify and support sporting talent, which candidates should recognise by name even without memorising budget figures:
- Khelo India — a national programme aimed at reviving grassroots sports culture, identifying young talent through the Khelo India Youth Games and School Games, and building sporting infrastructure across the country.
- Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) — a scheme under the Sports Authority of India that identifies and supports elite athletes with strong medal potential at the Olympics and Paralympics through customised training and financial assistance.
- National Institute of Sports (NIS), Patiala — India's premier institute for coaching education and sports science, often referred to as the "Mecca of Indian sport."
Public sector undertakings and government departments, including Indian Railways, the armed forces, and organisations such as the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, have historically employed a large share of India's top athletes under sports quota recruitment, which lets sportspersons pursue a stable career alongside competitive sport. This tradition is one reason why railway teams remain competitive in national hockey, athletics and kabaddi tournaments.
Quick Revision Points
- The Olympic rings have five colours: blue, yellow, black, green, red, on a white background.
- National Sports Day in India is 29 August (Major Dhyan Chand's birthday).
- The Khel Ratna is India's highest sporting honour; the Arjuna Award recognises four years of consistent performance.
- The Dronacharya Award honours coaches; the Dhyan Chand Award honours lifetime contribution.
- Kabaddi and Kho-Kho are indigenous Indian team sports frequently tested in this exam.
- FIFA governs football, ICC governs cricket, BWF governs badminton, and FIDE governs chess at the international level.
- The Asian Games are organised by the OCA; the Commonwealth Games by the CGF; the Olympics by the IOC.