Lakshmi, her brother, her daughter and her son are badminton players. A game of doubles is about to begin:
- i.Lakshmi’s brother is directly across the net from her daughter.
- ii.Her son is diagonally across the net from the worst player’s sibling.
- iii.The best player and the worst player are on the same side of the net.
Who is the best player?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (a) Her brother
The brother and the daughter face each other, so Lakshmi and her son are also on opposite sides. Whichever side the son takes, clue (ii) puts the worst player on the brother's side of the net, and clue (iii) then makes the brother the best player.
- Siblings: Lakshmi and her brother; the daughter and the son.
- Clue (i): the brother and daughter are on opposite sides, directly facing; so Lakshmi and her son are on opposite sides too.
- Case 1 — the son partners the brother: the son is diagonally across from the daughter, so the worst player's sibling is the daughter and the worst is the son. By (iii) the best is his partner, the brother.
- Case 2 — the son partners the daughter: the son is diagonally across from the brother, so the worst player's sibling is the brother and the worst is Lakshmi. The best is her partner — again the brother.
- Both cases give the brother as the best player.
Remember · When the clues allow two layouts, work out both; if they agree on the person asked about, that is the answer.
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2018, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·