Read the following passage and answer the questions based on the passage: India's journey at the Olympic Games has been a story of patience, persistence and small but significant breakthroughs. For decades after independence, Indian sport was associated almost exclusively with hockey — the men's team winning a string of gold medals between 1928 and 1980, an era that remains the most celebrated chapter in the country's Olympic history. After 1980, however, India's medal cupboard turned strikingly bare. With over a billion people, the nation often returned home from the Games with a single bronze, a result that fuelled long debates about why such a populous country struggled to win medals at the highest level. The turning point came at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. Abhinav Bindra's gold in the 10-metre air rifle event was India's first individual Olympic gold and rekindled hope across the country. In the same Games, Sushil Kumar took bronze in wrestling and Vijender Singh became the first Indian boxer to win an Olympic medal. The trio together signalled a structural shift: Indian athletes were no longer participants who occasionally surprised the world; they were beginning to compete as serious contenders in disciplines outside hockey. Subsequent editions widened the base. London 2012 produced six medals, India's largest Olympic haul to that point. Tokyo 2020 set a new record with seven medals, including Neeraj Chopra's javelin gold — the country's first track-and-field gold ever. Behind these results lies a quiet build-up of infrastructure: targeted schemes such as the Khelo India programme, specialised academies for shooting, badminton and wrestling, government and corporate sponsorship, and a growing willingness of young athletes to pursue sport as a full-time career. Yet, observers caution that India's medal tally per capita remains modest, and that broadening grass-roots participation, scientific training and sustained funding will determine whether the country can convert promising performances into a deeper, more durable Olympic tradition.
What is the central theme of the passage?
The gradual evolution and broadening of India's Olympic performance.
The passage traces India's Olympic journey from a hockey-dominated era through a long medal drought, a turning point at Beijing 2008, the larger hauls at London 2012 and Tokyo 2020, and finally the structural reasons behind the change. The unifying thread is the gradual evolution of Indian Olympic performance and its broadening across multiple disciplines.
Examining the options:
(A) Too narrow — hockey is mentioned only as the early chapter, not the whole story.
(B) Captures the broad arc the passage actually traces. Correct.
(C) The medal drought is one phase of the story, not the central theme.
(D) The passage doesn't focus on rivalries with foreign athletes.
Hence, the central theme is option 2.
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