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Q59 (IAS/2021) Miscellaneous & General Knowledge › Sports, Games & Awards › Olympic Games and medals Official Key

Consider the following statements in respect of the 32nd Summer Olympics : 1. The official motto for this Olympics is 'A New World'. 2. Sport Climbing, Surfing, Skateboarding, Karate and Baseball are included in this Olympics. Which of the above statements is/are correct?

Result
Your answer: —  ·  Correct: B
Explanation

The correct answer is Option 2.

Statement 1 is incorrect: The official motto for the 32nd Summer Olympics (Tokyo 2020) was "United by Emotion". The motto "A New World" was actually used for the 2016 Rio Olympics. Therefore, statement 1 is factually wrong.

Statement 2 is correct: The Tokyo 2020 Games introduced several new sports to appeal to a younger audience and reflect the evolving nature of global athletics. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) approved the inclusion of Sport Climbing, Surfing, Skateboarding, and Karate as new additions. Additionally, Baseball (along with Softball) made a return to the Olympic program for the first time since 2008.

Since only the second statement accurately describes the events of the 32nd Summer Olympics, Option 2 is the right choice.

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PROVENANCE & STUDY PATTERN
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Don’t just practise – reverse-engineer the question. This panel shows where this PYQ came from (books / web), how the examiner broke it into hidden statements, and which nearby micro-concepts you were supposed to learn from it. Treat it like an autopsy of the question: what might have triggered it, which exact lines in the book matter, and what linked ideas you should carry forward to future questions.
Q. Consider the following statements in respect of the 32nd Summer Olympics : 1. The official motto for this Olympics is 'A New World'. 2.…
At a glance
Origin: Mostly Current Affairs Fairness: Low / Borderline fairness Books / CA: 0/10 · 8.3/10
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This is a classic 'Mega-Event Identity' question. UPSC ignores daily match results but focuses on the structural identity of the event: Motto, Mascot, and New Sports. If a global event happens, you must know its 'Bio-data', not just the medal tally.

How this question is built

This question can be broken into the following sub-statements. Tap a statement sentence to jump into its detailed analysis.

Statement 1
Was "A New World" the official motto of the 32nd Summer Olympics (Tokyo 2020)?
Origin: Weak / unclear Fairness: Borderline / guessy
Indirect textbook clues
Themes in world history, History Class XI (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 7: Paths to Modernisation > ACTIVITY 2 > p. 165
Strength: 4/5
“The 1964 Olympics held in Tokyo marked a symbolic coming of age. In much the same way the network of high-speed Shinkansen or bullet trains, started in 1964, which ran at 200 miles per hour (now it is 300 miles per hour) have come to represent the ability of the Japanese to use advanced technologies to produce better and cheaper goods. The 1960s saw the growth of civil society movements as industrialisation had been pushed with utter disregard to its effect on health and the environment. Cadmium poisoning, which led to a painful disease, was an early indicator, followed by mercury poisoning in Minamata in the 1960s and problems caused by air pollution in the early 1970s.”
Why relevant

Describes how the 1964 Tokyo Olympics were explicitly used as a symbolic 'coming of age' for Japan, showing host cities use Olympics to project themes of modernization and national renewal.

How to extend

A student could use this pattern (hosts adopt thematic slogans) to check whether Tokyo 2020 similarly adopted a thematic motto by comparing official Tokyo 2020 communications or branding.

Exploring Society:India and Beyond. Social Science-Class VI . NCERT(Revised ed 2025) > Chapter 2: Oceans and Continents > DON'T MISS OUT > p. 35
Strength: 3/5
“You may have seen the five Olympic rings, one of the symbols of the Olympic Games. They symbolise the gathering of sportspeople from all over the world. The rings were chosen to represent five inhabited continents — Africa, America, Asia, Australia and Europe. Now let us look at the diagram on page 36, which is based on the list of seven continents. It does not show their actual shapes, but their relative sizes.”
Why relevant

Explains that Olympic symbols (the five rings) convey high-level themes like global gathering and unity, implying host mottos often align with such universal concepts.

How to extend

One could test if 'A New World' fits typical Olympic thematic language and then verify against Tokyo 2020's official symbol/text on IOC or Tokyo 2020 sites.

Themes in world history, History Class XI (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 7: Paths to Modernisation > Establishing the Republic > p. 170
Strength: 3/5
“JAPAN | CHINA • 1603 | Tokugawa Ieyasu establishes the Edo shogunate | 1644-1911 | Qing dynasty • 1630 | Japan closes country to Western Powers except for restricted trade with the Dutch | 1839-60 | Two Opium Wars • 1854 | Japan and the USA conclude the Treaty of Peace, ending Japan's seclusion • 1868 | Restoration of Meiji • 1872 | Compulsory education system First railway line between Tokyo and Yokohama • 1889 | Meiji Constitution enacted • 1894-95 | War between Japan and China • 1904-05 | War between Japan and Russia • 1910 | Korea annexed, colony till 1945 | 1912 | Sun Yat-sen founds Guomingdang • 1914-18 | First World War | 1919 | May Fourth Movement • 1925 | Universal male suffrage | 1921 | CCP founded • 1931 | Japan's invasion of China | 1926-49 | Civil Wars in China • 1941-45 | The Pacific War | 1934 | Long March • 1945 | Atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki | 1945 • 1946-52 | US-led Occupation of Japan Reforms to democratise and demilitarise Japan | 1949 | People's Republic of China Chiang Kai-shek founds Republic of China in Taiwan • 1956 | Japan becomes a member of the United Nations | 1962 | China attacks India over border dispute • 1964 | Olympic Games in Tokyo, the first time in Asia | 1966 | Cultural Revolution • 1976 | Death of Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai • 1997 | Hong Kong returned to China by Britain”
Why relevant

Notes Tokyo's role in Olympic history (1964 as first Asian host), indicating Tokyo's Games have historical branding choices tied to national image across different editions.

How to extend

Use this to justify comparing wording/themes between the 1964 Tokyo Games and the 2020 Tokyo Games (e.g., whether 'A New World' echoes past Tokyo themes) and then check official Tokyo 2020 sources.

Themes in world history, History Class XI (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 7: Paths to Modernisation > CAR-CLUB > p. 163
Strength: 3/5
“Moga: An abbreviation for 'modern qirl'. It represented the coming together in the twentieth century of ideas of gender equality, a cosmopolitan culture and a developed economy. The new middleclass families enjoyed new forms of travel and entertainment. Transport in cities improved with electric trams, public parks were opened from 1878, and department stores began to be built. In Tokyo, the Ginza became a fashionable area for Ginbura, a word combining 'Ginza' and 'burbura' (walking aimlessly). The first radio stations opened in 1925. Matsui Sumako, an actress, became a national star with her portrayal of Nora in the Norwegian writer Ibsen's A Doll's House.”
Why relevant

Discusses cultural modernization and concepts ('coming together' of modern ideas in Tokyo), showing hosts may select mottos emphasizing modernity or new eras.

How to extend

A student can see that 'A New World' would fit a modernization theme, then seek primary Tokyo 2020 materials (organising committee statements, opening ceremony text) to confirm or refute the phrase as an official motto.

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