SSC CGL 2025 Tier-I · 19 September 2025, Shift 3 · General Awareness · Question 11 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.

Where this paper and its answers come from

SSC does not publish CGL question papers or a public answer key. From 2025 the candidate response sheet prints every question and option as a picture, so the text here is transcribed from those pictures for this shift and checked against them independently; where the layout carries meaning, the picture is shown as well. Each answer is the key SSC colour-marked on that sheet. SSC released a tentative key for challenge and later its final one, both only to candidates behind a login, and the sheet does not say which of the two it carries. The solutions are written by UnlockIAS.

Which Indian para-athlete became the first para archer to receive the Padma Shri after winning a historic gold medal at the 2024 Paris Paralympics?

(a)Rakesh Kumar
(b)Harvinder Singh
(c)Mariyappan Thangavelu
(d)Sumit Antil

Answer

Why

Correct — B. Harvinder Singh, the recurve archer from Kaithal in Haryana, won the men's individual recurve open gold at the Paris 2024 Paralympics, India's first Paralympic archery gold.

He received the Padma Shri in 2025. He had also won India's first Paralympic archery medal, a bronze in the same event at Tokyo 2020 → option (b).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
Rakesh Kumar — Rakesh Kumar is a compound para archer. His Paris 2024 medal was a bronze in the mixed team compound open with Sheetal Devi, not a gold.
(c)
Mariyappan Thangavelu — Mariyappan Thangavelu is a para high jumper, not an archer. He received the Padma Shri in 2017, after his Rio 2016 gold.
(d)
Sumit Antil — Sumit Antil throws the javelin (F64), not arrows. He won Paralympic gold at Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 and received the Padma Shri in 2022.

Concept

Paralympic archery is shot with recurve and compound bows, and India's archery medals at Paris 2024 came in both.

Harvinder Singh took recurve gold in the men's individual open, and Sheetal Devi with Rakesh Kumar took compound bronze in the mixed team open. Harvinder's gold came three years after his Tokyo 2020 bronze in the same event.

The stem's 'first para archer to receive the Padma Shri' is the setter's framing. What the record confirms is his Padma Shri in 2025 and that his medals were India's first Paralympic archery gold and bronze.

Key facts

Harvinder Singh won gold in the men's individual recurve open at the Paris 2024 Paralympics, India's first Paralympic archery gold.
He won bronze in the same event at Tokyo 2020, India's first Paralympic archery medal.
Harvinder Singh received the Padma Shri in 2025.
Mariyappan Thangavelu (high jump) received the Padma Shri in 2017, and Sumit Antil (javelin F64) in 2022.

Study next

India at the Paris 2024 Paralympics: medallists and eventsSheetal Devi and compound para archeryPadma awards 2025 in sport

Common traps

Picking a famous para champion such as Sumit Antil or Mariyappan Thangavelu: both are athletes, not archers, and received the Padma Shri earlier.
Picking Rakesh Kumar because he is a para archer: his Paris medal was a mixed team compound bronze.

Here a Paralympian is tested through an award as well as a medal. Harvinder Singh is also keyed at 12 Sep 2025, 16:00, GA Q.6 (first Paralympic archery gold) and 13 Sep 2024, 09:00, GA Q.15 (Tokyo 2020 bronze), and Rakesh Kumar's bronze at 14 Sep 2025, 12:30, GA Q.5.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.