Paralympic - Current Affairs Questions and Answers

ANSWER: Zurich

Explanation:
Athletes with robotic prostheses from across the globe will gather in Zurich to be part of the world’s first Cybathlon

• They will compete across the a number of disciplines to test latest assistive technologies
• Races are there for powered wheelchairs and exoskeletons.
• There's a competition to complete a set of tasks with a robotic arm, and a similar one for robotic legs.
• The cycling race only allows for pedalling by the artificial stimulation of motor nerves.
• The most fascinating one is the Brain Computer Interface race where athletes paralysed from neck down play a game using electrodes connected to the brain; the specially created game involves using avatars to score points
• The Cybathlon has been thought of by Robert Riener, a professor of Sensory-Motor Systems at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.
• "We want to motivate developers to create technologies that provide real support to people in daily life," he explains.
• The Paralympics forbids the use of assistive technologies unlike the Cybathlon

ANSWER: All of the above

Explanation:
China became only the third country in the world to win more than 100 gold medals at a single edition of the Paralympic Games.

• China ended the games with 105 gold, 81 silver and 51 bronze medals
• United States and Britain are the only other nations to in a century of gold medals in a single Paralympics
• Both US and UK won their century tally of medals at the 1984 NY games where US claimed 136 victories and Britain 107
• 5 of China's track and field gold medals on 17th Sept - the penultimate day of competition - were achieved with world record performances.
• The records were set by Zheng Jin, Mi Na, Zhou Hongzhuan, Zhou Xia
• In the men's 4x400m relay T53/54, China's Cui Yanfeng, Liu Yang, Li Huzhao and Liu Chengming clocked 3 minutes 3.12 seconds to eclipse their own previous world record of 3:04.77.
• Wu Guoshan recorded his longest throw of the year to win the men's shot put F57.
• China’s Zhang Bian and Gu Gai beat Serbia's Borislava Peric-Rankovic and Nada Matic in TT
• Zhang Li secured her third gold medal here by winning the 100m freestyle S5 final.

ANSWER: Both a and c

Explanation:
Paralympic athletes winning medals at the Rio Paralympic Games can literally hear the sound of victory.
Paralympians can hear their medals with the assistance of steel balls fitted inside the medals.

• During the Rio Games, athletes biting their medals at the presentation ceremony was a common sight
• But at the Rio Paralympics Games, athletes are holding up medals to their ears- here’s why
• International Paralympic Committee made the gold, silver and bronze medals fitted with steel balls on the inside to make a sound when shaken
• This ensures that visually impaired athletes can hear their medals
• Bronze medal has 16 balls and makes the lowest sound
• Silver medal has 20 balls, while gold medals have 28 balls making the loudest noise
• The medals also have the words “2016 Rio Paralympic Games” written on them in Braille

ANSWER: 2

Explanation:
Devendra Jhajharia won the log medal at the men’s F46 event.

• He became the first Indian to clinch two gold medals at the Paralympics
• He broke his own world record to clinch the medal
• He also won a previous gold in the 2004 Athens Games
• His previous best was 62.15m which he had achieved in the 2004 Games
• In the 2016 Games, he improved the mark with an attempt of 63.97m
• World No.1 from China Chunking Guo won the silver while Sri Lanka’s Herath Priyantha grabbed the bronze
• India now has two gold, one silver and one bronze in the current edition of the Paralympics Games
• While Thangavelue Mariyappan struck gold in the men’s high jump, Varun Bhati secured bronze in the same event. Deepa Malik won the silver medal in the women’s short putt event.
• Jhajharia is currently being supported by the GoSports Foundation through the Para Champions Programme.

ANSWER: Deepa Malik

Explanation:
Indian athlete Deepa Malik on 12th Sept 2016 became the first Indian woman to bag a medal at the Paralympics.

• She clinched a silver medal in the shot putt F-53 event
• Her throw of 4.61m was the best in her six attempts
• With this victory, she confirmed India’s third medal from Rio Paralympics
• Fatema Nedham of Bahrain won the gold medal with the best throw of 4.76m
• Greece’s Dimitra Korokida bagged the bronze medal with a 4.28m throw
• Deepa Malik hails from Sonipat. She is a member of Himalayan Motorsports Association and Federation of Motor Sports Club of India
• She has completed a 1700 km drive in sub-zero temperatures includes a climb to 18,000 feet
• She is a member of the working group in the formulation 12th five year plan (2012-2017) on Sports and Physical Education as nominated by the Planning Commission HRD Division on behalf of the Sports Ministry