Pune Student Tops National Rankings in CCCC Cryptic Crossword Contest Practice Round

Sahil Sandeep Sabne of Suryadatta National School, Pune, is the national topper of the Practice Round of the 14th edition of the inter-school CCCC Cryptic Crossword Contest, popular as CCCC among students across India. Sabne played solo. Participants have the option of playing as a two-member school team.

The team of Anjali Nanduri and Aradhya Ranjith from Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s Public School (Vidyashram), Hyderabad, was runner-up. They were followed by Dhairya Pandey, another solo player, from Don Bosco Academy, Patna, in the third place in the national ranking.

Nanya Dev Singh of DPS Patna, who played solo, is the state topper from Bihar. While the team of Ramya Bindal and Aryan Sejwal from The Mother’s International School was the Delhi topper, that of Tanvi Uddaraja and Aanya Srivastava from Vidyashram, Hyderabad, was the Telangana topper.

Other notable state toppers are Avani Fiske and Mudraa Paidarkar from SES Gurukal (Maharashtra); Tanishka Sumbly from Heritage School Jammu (J&K); and Shreyan Sharma from DPS Ludhiana (Punjab).

If the Practice Round results are any indication, students from small towns in Bihar have given a big thumbs up to the annual championship. The participation from such towns has seen an upsurge this time.

A solo participant, Sourya Srivastava from Cinderella English School is the city topper from Darbhanga. While the team of Yubraj Anand and Saksham Singh from Mount Assisi School is the Bhagalpur topper, the one-member team of Shivam Kumar Jha from SDDNG Government High School is the topper from Araria.

Mayank Besra and Bishnu Murmu, playing as team for EMRS AASTA, Jhajha, have topped the Jamui merit list.

Girl students too are giving their boy counterparts a run for their money. While Anchal Kumari and Rekha Kumari of Dr BR Ambedkar Residential Girls’ School, Sadar, have topped the Ara (Bhojpur) list, Anandi Kumari and Riya Kumari of Government SC Residential Girls’ High School are the top team from Lakhisarai.

While the team of Anchal Kumari and Barsha Kumari of Dr BR Ambedkar Residential Girls’ School has topped Aurangabad that of Vandana Kumari and Raushni Kumari of Dr BR Ambedkar Residential Girls’ School has the firdt position in Muzaffarpur.

The world’s biggest school crossword contest, CCCC is played in an online-offline format. Though the Practice Round does not allot any points to participants, they are able to gauge the competitive level of the event and warm up to the scoring rounds. The three online scoring rounds in the preliminary stage of the current championship will be played on the next three consecutive Sundays – April 12, 19, and 26.

Shortlisted teams and participants will move on to the second stage of face-to-face online round. Those who clear this stage will be called to the national capital for an offline Grand Finale towards the year-end to vie for the national Crossword Champion Trophy.

The full list of the Practice Round winners can be accessed on www.crypticsingh.com