SSC CGL 2025 Tier-I · 14 September 2025, Shift 1 · English Comprehension · Question 17 of 100

We transcribed this text from the pictures on a candidate's response sheet for this shift; the answer is the key SSC colour-marked on that sheet. Solution last reviewed 11 September 2026.

Read the following passage and answer the questions based on the passage:
India’s tryst with the Olympic Games began in 1900, when Norman Pritchard, a British-Indian athlete, clinched two silver medals in athletics. However, it wasn’t until the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics that India emerged as a formidable force in hockey, winning its first team gold. What followed was a golden era, where the Indian men’s hockey team dominated the Olympic arena with eight gold medals between 1928 and 1980—an unmatched legacy. Despite this early excellence, India’s Olympic journey has been riddled with inconsistencies. Post-1980, a conspicuous medal drought gripped the nation, exposing systemic inefficiencies: lack of infrastructure, inadequate training, and minimal grassroots scouting. Athletes often relied more on personal resilience than institutional support to achieve global recognition. The 21st century, however, has ushered in a phase of cautious optimism. With the establishment of bodies like the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) and increased corporate sponsorship, Indian athletes now enjoy improved access to international-level coaching, nutrition, and psychological training. The medal tallies, though modest, have seen an upward trend—symbolized by Neeraj Chopra’s historic gold in javelin at Tokyo 2020. What’s most heartening is the diversification of sports. No longer confined to hockey and wrestling, India is now making strides in disciplines like badminton, shooting, boxing, and athletics. Equally noteworthy is the rising representation and success of Indian women athletes, who have frequently been the torchbearers in recent Olympic outings. Yet, challenges remain. The transition from potential to podium demands long-term investment, scientific sports management, and societal encouragement that transcends cricket-centric fandom. While India’s Olympic identity is still evolving, the collective ambition is clearer than ever: to transform from a participant nation into a sporting powerhouse.

Which initiative is mentioned as a game-changer in recent Olympic preparation?

(a)Mission Khel Udaan
(b)Olympic Gold Hunt
(c)Fit India Movement
(d)Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS)

Answer

Why

Correct — D. The passage names one scheme, in its 21st-century part:
"With the establishment of bodies like the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) and increased corporate sponsorship, Indian athletes now enjoy improved access to international-level coaching, nutrition, and psychological training."

The word game-changer is the question's, not the passage's. It fits TOPS because the passage ties the scheme to that improved access → option (d).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
Mission Khel Udaan — Mission Khel Udaan does not appear anywhere in the passage. A reading question is answered from the text, and this name is not in it.
(b)
Olympic Gold Hunt — Olympic Gold Hunt is not in the passage either. It borrows the passage's Olympic theme, but the text names no such initiative.
(c)
Fit India Movement — Fit India Movement is a real government fitness campaign, which makes it tempting, but the passage never mentions it. The question asks what the passage mentions.

Concept

A which-is-mentioned question checks the text, not your general knowledge. Scan the passage for each option's name: three are absent, one is there.

The question's label, game-changer, is a paraphrase. The passage's own claim is that TOPS and corporate sponsorship brought improved access to coaching, nutrition and psychological training.

That link — the scheme, then the improvement — is what earns TOPS the label.

The passage writes bodies like the Target Olympic Podium Scheme, so it hints at others without naming them. Of the four options, TOPS is the one the text actually contains.

Key facts

The passage names the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) alongside increased corporate sponsorship.
It credits them with improved access to international-level coaching, nutrition and psychological training.
TOPS is a scheme of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.

Study next

Paraphrase in question stems: game-changer for improved accessRejecting real-world names the passage does not containIndia's sports schemes: TOPS, Khelo India, Fit India Movement

Common traps

Choosing Fit India Movement because it is a real scheme, without checking the passage
Doubting TOPS because the word game-changer is nowhere in the passage

The scheme is asked directly at 23 Sep 2024, 12:30, GA Q.20, which asks which team event the Target Olympic Podium Scheme includes and keys Hockey.

The same passage carries English Q.15 to Q.19.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

Read the following passage and answer the questions based on the passage:
India’s tryst with the Olympic Games began in 1900, when Norman Pritchard, a British-Indian athlete, clinched two silver medals in athletics. However, it wasn’t until the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics that India emerged as a formidable force in hockey, winning its first team gold. What followed was a golden era, where the Indian men’s hockey team dominated the Olympic arena with eight gold medals between 1928 and 1980—an unmatched legacy. Despite this early excellence, India’s Olympic journey has been riddled with inconsistencies. Post-1980, a conspicuous medal drought gripped the nation, exposing systemic inefficiencies: lack of infrastructure, inadequate training, and minimal grassroots scouting. Athletes often relied more on personal resilience than institutional support to achieve global recognition. The 21st century, however, has ushered in a phase of cautious optimism. With the establishment of bodies like the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) and increased corporate sponsorship, Indian athletes now enjoy improved access to international-level coaching, nutrition, and psychological training. The medal tallies, though modest, have seen an upward trend—symbolized by Neeraj Chopra’s historic gold in javelin at Tokyo 2020. What’s most heartening is the diversification of sports. No longer confined to hockey and wrestling, India is now making strides in disciplines like badminton, shooting, boxing, and athletics. Equally noteworthy is the rising representation and success of Indian women athletes, who have frequently been the torchbearers in recent Olympic outings. Yet, challenges remain. The transition from potential to podium demands long-term investment, scientific sports management, and societal encouragement that transcends cricket-centric fandom. While India’s Olympic identity is still evolving, the collective ambition is clearer than ever: to transform from a participant nation into a sporting powerhouse.