Dronacharya Award — Set 6

Correct Answer: C. Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports

• **Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports** = This ministry manages the selection and presentation of the Dronacharya Award and all national sports honors. • **Selection Committee** — This ministry sets up an expert committee to review nominations and recommend awardees. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: [Ministry of Home Affairs]: deals with internal security and law enforcement, not sports awards; [Ministry of Culture]: focuses on promoting arts and heritage, not sports awards; [Ministry of Education]: deals with educational policies, not directly national sports honors.

Correct Answer: B. Om Prakash Bhardwaj

• **Om Prakash Bhardwaj** = He was the first Boxing coach to receive the Dronacharya Award. • **1985** — He was one of the inaugural three recipients of the Dronacharya Award in this year. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: [G.S. Sandhu]: a prominent boxing coach, but received the award later in 2011; [Jagdish Singh]: a boxing coach, but received the award later in 2010; [B.I. Fernandez]: a foreign boxing coach, received the award in 2012.

Correct Answer: B. Pulella Gopichand

• **Pulella Gopichand** = This badminton coach, who trained Saina Nehwal and P.V. Sindhu, received the Dronacharya Award. • **2009** — He was honored with the Dronacharya Award in this year for his outstanding coaching achievements. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: [Prakash Padukone]: a legendary badminton player, but not the specific coach mentioned; [Vimal Kumar]: a prominent badminton coach, but received the award later in 2019; [S.M. Arif]: a badminton coach, received the award in 2000.

Correct Answer: C. Boxing

• **Boxing** = B.I. Fernandez, the first foreigner to win the Dronacharya Award, was a coach in this sport. • **2012** — He was awarded the Dronacharya Award in this year, recognizing his significant contribution to Indian boxing. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: [Athletics]: he was not known for coaching athletics; [Wrestling]: he was not known for coaching wrestling; [Archery]: he was not known for coaching archery.

Correct Answer: D. 20 years

• **20 years** = A coach is eligible for the 'Lifetime Achievement' category of the Dronacharya Award for this minimum number of years of service. • **Lifetime Achievement** — This category recognizes long-term dedication and consistent contribution across multiple generations of athletes. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: [5 years]: too short for a 'Lifetime Achievement' award; [10 years]: not the specified minimum for the 'Lifetime Achievement' category; [15 years]: not the specified minimum for the 'Lifetime Achievement' category.

Correct Answer: B. Sunny Thomas

• **Sunny Thomas** = He was the coach of an Olympic gold medalist in shooting and was awarded the Dronacharya. • **2001** — He received the Dronacharya Award in this year for his outstanding contributions to Indian shooting. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: [Jaspal Rana]: a renowned shooter and Arjuna Awardee himself, not the coach mentioned; [Gagan Narang]: an Olympic medalist shooter, not the coach mentioned; [Rajyavardhan Rathore]: an Olympic medalist shooter, not the coach mentioned.

Correct Answer: C. Five

• **Five** = This is generally the maximum number of Dronacharya Awards that can be given in the 'Regular' category in a single year. • **Regular Category** — This guideline helps maintain the exclusivity and prestige of the award, though exceptions are sometimes made. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: [Two]: too few, typically more than two are awarded; [Three]: a common number in earlier years, but five is the general maximum now; [Ten]: too many, this would diminish the award's exclusivity.

Correct Answer: A. Satpal Singh

• **Satpal Singh** = He was the coach of the legendary wrestler Sushil Kumar and received the Dronacharya Award. • **2009** — He was honored with the Dronacharya Award in this year for his significant contributions to wrestling coaching. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: [Ramphal]: also a wrestling coach, but not specifically known as Sushil Kumar's Dronacharya awardee coach in 2009; [Yogeshwar Dutt]: a celebrated wrestler, not the coach mentioned; [Mahavir Singh Phogat]: a renowned wrestling coach, but primarily known for coaching his daughters, and received the award in 2016.

Correct Answer: D. None of these

• **None of these** = There was no Dronacharya Award given for Shooting in **1994**, hence Jaspal Rana's coach did not receive it then. • **1994** — No Dronacharya Award for shooting was conferred in this year; Jaspal Rana himself received the Arjuna Award in this year. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: [Sunny Thomas]: was the first shooting coach to receive the Dronacharya Award, but in 2001, not 1994; [S.M. Arif]: a badminton coach, not shooting; [Tibor Selymes]: a foreign football coach, not related to Indian shooting coaches.

Correct Answer: C. Bronze

• **Bronze** = The Dronacharya Award statuette is made of this material, depicting Guru Dronacharya with a bow and arrow. • **Guru Dronacharya** — The statuette symbolizes the ancient master, reflecting the award's recognition of coaching excellence. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: [Gold]: too expensive and not the traditional material for this award; [Silver]: not the material used for the statuette; [Copper]: not the material used for the statuette.