Sports & Games Short Notes for Competitive Exams (2025)

SPORTS & GAMES – SHORT NOTES (Exam-Oriented)

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1. Basics of Sports & Games

• Sports → Physical activities with rules, competition, and skill.

• Types → Indoor, Outdoor, Adventure, Water sports.

• International bodies govern rules (FIFA, ICC, IOC, FIH).

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2. Important International Sports Organizations

• IOC – International Olympic Committee

• FIFA – Football

• ICC – Cricket

• FIBA – Basketball

• FIH – Hockey

• ITF – Tennis

• BWF – Badminton

• FIDE – Chess

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3. Major International Tournaments (Very Important)

🏆 Cricket

• ICC Cricket World Cup – 50 overs

• ICC T20 World Cup

• ICC Champions Trophy

• The Ashes – Eng vs Aus

⚽ Football

• FIFA World Cup – Every 4 years

• UEFA Euro Cup

• Copa América

• English Premier League (EPL)

• La Liga – Spain

🏑 Hockey

• Hockey World Cup

• Sultan Azlan Shah Cup

• Champions Trophy

🎾 Tennis (Grand Slams)

1. Australian Open

2. French Open

3. Wimbledon

4. US Open

🏸 Badminton

• BWF World Championships

• All England Open

• Thomas Cup (Men’s)

• Uber Cup (Women’s)

🏏 Multi-sport

• Olympic Games

• Commonwealth Games

• Asian Games

• South Asian Games

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4. Olympics (Most Important for Exams)

Modern Olympics

• Started: 1896 (Athens)

• Held every 4 years

• Governing body: IOC

Olympic Symbols

• Five rings → 5 continents

• Motto → Citius, Altius, Fortius (Faster, Higher, Stronger)

India in Olympics

• First Indian to win individual medal: KD Jadhav (Wrestling)

• First individual Gold: Abhinav Bindra (Shooting)

• Hockey = India’s strongest sport historically

• Neeraj Chopra → India’s 1st Athletics Gold

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5. Major Indian Sports Events

• National Games

• Santosh Trophy – Football

• Ranji Trophy – Cricket

• Duleep Trophy – Cricket

• Durand Cup – Football

• Nehru Cup – Football

• Subroto Cup – School football tournament

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6. Sports Terms (Frequently Asked in Exams)

Cricket

• LBW, yorker, duck, googly, follow-on, powerplay

Football

• Offside, hat-trick, free kick, penalty

Tennis

• Deuce, ace, fault, tie-breaker

Hockey

• Dribble, penalty corner, scoop, push

Badminton

• Smash, drop shot, rally, serve

Golf

• Birdie, eagle, tee, bunker

Boxing

• Knockout, jab, hook, round

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7. Popular Cups & Trophies (Very Important)

India

• Cricket → Ranji, Duleep, Vijay Hazare, Irani

• Football → Durand Cup, Santosh Trophy

• Hockey → Nehru Cup

• Badminton → Syed Modi International

World

• Football → FIFA World Cup, UEFA Champions League

• Tennis → Davis Cup, Fed Cup

• Golf → Ryder Cup

• Table Tennis → Corbillon Cup

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8. National Sports Awards of India

Major Awards

• Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna / Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna – Highest sports honour

• Arjuna Award – Outstanding performance

• Dronacharya Award – Coaches

• Dhyan Chand Award – Lifetime achievement

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9. Famous Sports Personalities

India

• Cricket → Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma

• Badminton → PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal, Srikanth Kidambi

• Athletics → Neeraj Chopra, PT Usha

• Chess → Viswanathan Anand

• Wrestling → Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik

• Boxing → Mary Kom

• Shooting → Abhinav Bindra

World

• Football → Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar

• Tennis → Federer, Nadal, Djokovic

• Athletics → Usain Bolt

• Wrestling → Alexander Karelin

• Swimming → Michael Phelps

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10. Sports Nicknames (High-Scoring)

• Sachin Tendulkar → Little Master / God of Cricket

• Dhyan Chand → Wizard of Hockey

• Lionel Messi → La Pulga

• Cristiano Ronaldo → CR7

• Usain Bolt → Lightning Bolt

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11. Indian Sports Achievements

• India won first Cricket World Cup (1983) under Kapil Dev

• India won T20 World Cup (2007) under Dhoni

• Neeraj Chopra → 1st Athletics Olympic Gold

• Indian Hockey → 8 Olympic Gold medals

• India won Thomas Cup (Badminton) 2022 for the first time

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12. Important Sports Headquarters

• IOC – Lausanne, Switzerland

• FIFA – Zurich, Switzerland

• ICC – Dubai, UAE

• BCCI – Mumbai

• BWF – Kuala Lumpur

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13. Recent Trending Topics

• eSports added in Asian Games

• Paris Olympics 2024 highlights

• FIFA 2026 preparation

• India’s rising performance in athletics

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⭐ 14. Quick Revision One-Liners

• Father of Modern Olympics → Pierre de Coubertin

• National sport of India (not officially) → Hockey

• Dronacharya Award → Coaches

• FIFA World Cup period → Every 4 years

• Uber Cup → Women’s badminton

• First Indian female Olympic medalist → Karnam Malleswari

• Most Olympic medals → Michael Phelps (USA)