Sports Quiz

1. Who is the only heavyweight boxer to be world champion thrice (with break in between)?
2. Name the boxing coach who was honoured by the government of India with the prestigious Dronacharya Award?
3. Who was the captain of the Indian team which won the 1928 Olympic Gold?
4. Which Indian village has been called the ‘nursery of Indian hockey’?
5. Who were nicknamed: a. Big Bill; b. Bounding Basque; c. The Ghost in tennis?
6. Who scored three successive centuries for Pakistan against India in the One-day Internationals in December 1982 and January 1983?
7. Who while playing for Pakistan against India at Faisalabad in October 1984 became the first batsman to be dismissed for 199 in Test cricket?
8. When was the sport of volleyball first included in the Olympics?
9. Which national weightlifting champion also an outstanding volleyball player represented India in the 1952 Olympics?
10. Who was the first weightlifter to be given the Arjuna Award?

Answer: 1. Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali); 2. O P Bharadwaj in 1985; 3. Jaipal Singh. He however did not play in the semifinal and final; 4. Sansarpur district, Jalandhar in Punjab; 5. a. United States’ William Tilden; b. France’s Jean Borotra; c. Ireland’s H S Mahoney; 6. Zaheer Abbas; 7. Mudassar Nazar; 8. 1964; 9. Gurdev Singh; 10. A N Ghosh in 1961

Can ZiZOY turn on the MAGIC for FRANCE again?

There is no doubting Zinedine Zidane’s intrinsic ability as a match-winner.  He is on a proven track. 

Any player who scores two goals in a World Cup final, not just the final rounds but the grand finale, has made a reputation for life. Zidane earned that right against Brazil as France won 2-0 at home four years ago.
Then he was with Juventus in Italy. His value went up dramatically after 1998 and soon he moved to Real Madrid in Spain for a reported figure of $64.9 million. The time has come again for Zidane to spin his magic. At Japan and South Korea, the supporters of the defending champions would be hoping for an encore as France bid back-to-back to championships.
Zidane, one of five sons born to Algerian immigrants, grew up in his native city of Marseille and supported his local club, idolising the club’s Uruguayan striker Enzo Francescoli (Zidane later named his first son Enzo).
Marseille’s maverick president Bernard Tapie, busy throwing money at the world’s top talents, failed to notice the rough diamond emerging under his very nose and the youngster — full name Zinedine Yazid Zidane — started his career at Cannes. 
Cannes is more associated with cinematic launches than putting football stars into orbit but ‘Zizou’ made his debut at the age of 16 under the wing of footballing mentor Luis Fernandez. He moved to Bordeaux and it was with the Girondins that he reached the 1996 UEFA Cup final — a performance that earned him a move to Juventus. 
At Juventus Zidane won two Scudetti in 1996-97 and 1997-98 as well as the Intercontinental Cup and lesser trophies such as the Italian and European Super Cups. But it was in the summer of 1998 that Zidane produced his career-defining performance. 
Zidane had an undistinguished campaign on France’s march to the World Cup final, sitting out two matches after being sent off for stamping against Saudi Arabia in a group match. But he returned and on World Cup final night on July 12, 

1998 at the Stade de France the long-time budding talent metamorphosed into a superstar. 
Since then, Zidane has been an icon. Feted at the Elysee Palace where he was awarded the Legion D’honneur, he has, despite of his self-professed shyness, become a United Nations goodwill ambassador.
His confidence has grown on the pitch too. In Euro 2000 he was by far the best player in the tournament as France added the Continental championship to their world crown. That earned him a second FIFA World Player of the Year crown. 
Married to a Spanish girl Veronica and father of sons Enzo and Luca he has long desired a move to his wife’s homeland. His closest friend in football is fellow French international Christophe Dugarry and at Juve his preferred companion was Uruguayan defender Paolo Montero. 
On the field the red mist still occasionally descends. He earned a five-match ban after a head butt incident against Hamburg in the 2000-2001 Champions League. The Champions League remains as one major trophy he has never won, having lost two successive finals to Borussia Dortmund in 1997 and Real Madrid in 1998. But now again Zidane has a chance to add that medallion to his chest when Real play Bayer Leverkusen in the final on May 15.
But Zidane said last season the best was yet to come. “I’ve reached my maturity,” he said. “I’ve my greatest footballing years ahead of me. Maybe not five years, but I hope at least another two or three years at the highest level. What’s certain is that at 33 years I won’t be on a football pitch,’’ he added.