1 On meeting this athlete just before the Rome Olympics, the emperor of his country exclaimed “How can such thin people win?” But not only did he win his event, he smashed the existing Olympic record by eight minutes. Identify the athlete who upset both the heavily favoured Soviet Sergei Popov and Moroccan Rhadi Ben Abdesselam on his way to a gold.

2 The two favourites that year were Jack Nicholson for About Schmidt and Daniel Day-Lewis for Martin Scorsese’s Gangs Of New York. Instead, the Oscar for Best Actor went to a 29-year-old. Which actor?

3 The biggest-ever election upset in US history had the incumbent Democratic presidential nominee make it five consecutive wins for his party. The Chicago Daily Tribune was so sure that the Republican would win that they printed the wrong result. Who were the two candidates?

4 In a year when RD Burman’s Amar Prem and Ghulam Mohammed’s Pakeezah were released, the winner of the Filmfare award for best music direction went to such an outsider that one of the actors in that film refused to accept his own supporting actor award, citing the blatant bias in the music awards. Name the film and its music directors.

5 In 1879, just after a devastating loss, a small force of 139 British soldiers held off a Zulu force of more than 4,000 warriors, who finally had to withdraw. As many as 11 Victoria Crosses were awarded during the engagement. Name this famous battle.

6 In February 1990, a 42-1 outsider got knocked down in the eighth round, but came back to register a stunning upset for the World Heavyweight title. Name the boxers involved.

7 Indira Gandhi lost just one Parliamentary election in her life. As sitting Prime Minister, she lost to a rank outsider from Raebareli. To whom did she lose?

8 In 2005, Australia, easily the best limited-overs cricket team in the world, were defeated by the worst, Bangladesh, who at that point, had won just nine of their 107 one day international matches. Whose century sparked that famous Bangladesh victory?

9 In 2000, after losing the Best Album award to this influential group from the ’70s, Eminem was moved to say, “Who the f*** is ____ ___?” Name this group.

10 It feels good to participate in an international football tournament for which you did not qualify. But this country made it one of the greatest sporting upsets of all time by beating France, Holland and Germany. Name the country and the tournament.

ANSWERS

1. Abebe Bikila, who won the marathon in Rome running barefoot

2. Adrien Brody, for The Pianist, in 2002

3. Democrat Harry Truman beat Republican Thomas Dewey in 1948

4. Be-Imaan; Shankar-Jaikishen. Pran was the protesting actor in 1973. Amar Prem did not get nominated

5. Battle of Rorke’s Drift

6. Buster Douglas and Mike Tyson. Tyson was counted out in the 10th round

7. Raj Narain

8. Mohammad Ashraful

9. Steely Dan; their last award was for Gaucho, 1981

10. Denmark, which won the Euro in 1992 after Yugoslavia was disqualified

Joy Bhattacharjyais a quizmaster and Project Director, FIFA U-17 World Cup

Follow Joy on Twitter @joybhattacharj

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