REACTION TRACKER
The first direct clue in the question is Clue (vi). Clue (vii) is the next clue to use as using the last 2 clues we get that H,G and D play table tennis (thus fixing our list of TT players).
Hence, when we read that B does not play football we can deduce that B plays cricket—as he cannot be playing table tennis since we already know the three people playing TT. The other direct clue that we can use for placing an individual in our starting figure based on height is clue (iv). According to this, E does not play cricket (hence must be football) and he is second to the tallest. At this point we also need to keep aside the information that E is taller than B outside the purview of the figure for later use. At this point our figure would be as given below with the additional knowledge that H,G & D play TT and B plays cricket.Football
H Table tennis
From this point we need to first focus on placing the other 6 people in the decreasing order of their heights inside the figure above.
Clue (iii) combined with Clue (v) helps us understand that:
Between A, G and D, the order of heights from lower to higher would be AT GT D.
And Since F is taller than A and D, F must be taller than ATGTD. Also because F is shorter than H and B, F cannot take the topmost or the third position from top in the figure. Based on these deductions the figure changes to:
E Football
H Table tennis
F
D Table tennis
G Table tennis
A
Placing B in the above figure is easy because we had kept aside the information that “E is taller than B”. Thus, B can only take the third place position and the highest place goes to C. Thus the figure becomes:
c
E Football
B Cricket
H Table tennis
F
D Table tennis
G Table tennis
A
At this point we can use the clues about who does not play what and identify the remaining 2 people for cricket and the remaining person for football as:
The tallest does not play football /E deduction /E the tallest plays cricket.
The shortest does not play cricket /E deduction √zE the shortest plays football. The table can be completed at this point as below:
The answers can be read off easily at this point from the table above:
1. C is the tallest. Option (c).
2. A is the shortest. Option (c).
3. E & A are the two football players. Option (a).
4. F is placed fifth from the top. Option (a).