Practice Test 18

Sports in India have witnessed a remarkable transformation over the past decade, with the country significantly improving its performance at international competitions including the Olympic Games, the Commonwealth Games, the Asian Games, and world championships across a growing range of disciplines, while also investing substantially in grassroots sports development infrastructure that aims to identify and nurture talent from every part of the country. At the Tokyo Olympics held in 2021, India achieved its best-ever medal tally with seven medals including the historic gold medal won by Neeraj Chopra in javelin throw, which ended India's twenty-one-year wait for an individual gold medal at the summer Olympics and announced the arrival of India as a nation capable of challenging for the highest honours in track and field athletics. At the Paris Olympics in 2024, Neeraj Chopra again won a silver medal in javelin, consolidating his status as India's most accomplished contemporary Olympian. Badminton, wrestling, boxing, shooting, and weightlifting have been the most consistently productive disciplines for India at international competitions, with a new generation of medal-winning athletes in each of these sports following pathways developed through the Target Olympic Podium Scheme, which provides high-performance training, international competition exposure, world-class coaching, and comprehensive support services to the country's top athletes in Olympic disciplines. The Khelo India programme, which includes the Khelo India Youth Games and Khelo India University Games held annually across different states, has created a high-profile competitive platform for young athletes from all states and union territories, generating national media attention for sports beyond cricket and providing a pathway for talented youngsters to come to the attention of national federation selectors. Khelo India investments have funded the creation of thousands of sports infrastructure projects including stadiums, swimming pools, indoor courts, synthetic tracks, and gymnasium complexes in district headquarters, smaller cities, and rural areas, making quality sports facilities accessible to a much wider population of aspiring athletes. The Sports Authority of India operates a network of training centres at its national facilities in New Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata, and other cities, providing residential training to promising athletes identified through talent detection programmes. Cricket, despite its dominant position in Indian popular culture and its enormous commercial value through the Board of Control for Cricket in India and its franchise-based Indian Premier League, has been supplemented by national enthusiasm for football, kabaddi, hockey, tennis, chess, and an expanding range of other sports, reflecting the growing breadth of India's sporting ambitions and achievements.