The past-perfect passive construction is “had never been” followed by a past participle. “Defeated” correctly expresses that another team beat India. The other choices do not complete this passive verb phrase. Select A; the historical sentence is retained as part of the exam.
More Verbal Aptitude: Grammar and Vocabulary questions
GATE 2019 BT Q1– The fishermen, the flood victims owed their lives, were rewarded by the government.
GATE 2019 BT Q5– Until Iran came along, India had never been in kabaddi.
GATE 2019 CY Q1– John Thomas, an writer, passed away in 2018.
GATE 2019 CY Q2– I permitted him to leave, I wouldn’t have had any problem with him being absent, I?
GATE 2019 CY Q5– The minister avoided mentioning the issue of women’s reservation in the private sector. He…
GATE 2019 MT Q1– The fishermen, the flood victims owed their lives, were rewarded by the government.