Chennai/Patna: The Bihar Foundation National Inter-College Crossword Event (NICE) 2026 South Zone Finals were successfully held at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) in Chennai on September 9, bringing together students from several leading educational institutions.
The prestigious zonal competition was jointly organised by Extra-C, the Crossword Association of Tamil Nadu, the Crossword Federation of India and Shaastra, IIT Madras, with support from the Central Bank of India. Students who qualified through the online preliminary rounds competed in the South Zone Finals, demonstrating their vocabulary, analytical abilities, problem-solving skills and expertise in solving crosswords.
23 Teams Compete in South Zone Finals
A total of 23 teams representing prominent educational institutions participated in the competition. The participating teams included eight teams from SASTRA University, five from NIT Trichy, five from Apollo College of Nursing, Hyderabad, three from IIT Madras, Chennai, and one team each from the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru, and BITS Pilani, Hyderabad.
The competition was conducted by renowned crossword expert Ramki Krishnan.
Written Round Followed by On-Stage Final
The competition was held in two stages. The written preliminary round tested participants on accuracy and speed, with the top six teams advancing to the on-stage final.
The live final featured three teams from IIT Madras and one team each from BITS Pilani, Hyderabad, SASTRA University and NIT Trichy. The closely contested round tested the participants’ ability to solve challenging crossword clues under competitive conditions.
IIT Madras Takes the Championship
After an exciting final, Nikilesh and Tisha Taneja of IIT Madras emerged as the champions of the Bihar Foundation NICE 2026 South Zone Finals.
Ashish and Hargun of IIT Madras secured the First Runners-up position, while Gokul and Dilip of NIT Trichy were declared the Second Runners-up.
The results placed IIT Madras teams at both the top and second positions, underlining their strong performance in the competition.
Winners Honoured at Prize Distribution Ceremony
The prize distribution ceremony was attended by Harmander Singh, IAS (Retd.), President of the Crossword Association of Tamil Nadu, and Prof. Ram Kumar of IIT Madras.
They presented trophies and certificates to the winners and congratulated all participants for their enthusiastic participation and performances.
Lakshmi Vaidyanathan, Co-host and Coordinator of the event, and Paneerselvam of the Crossword Association of Tamil Nadu were also present on the occasion.
NICE Promotes Crossword Skills Among Students
The successful conduct of the Bihar Foundation NICE 2026 South Zone Finals, supported by the Central Bank of India, highlighted the growing popularity of competitive crossword solving among young students.
The event provides college students with an engaging platform to strengthen their vocabulary, linguistic abilities, logical reasoning, lateral thinking and problem-solving skills while competing with students from leading institutions across the country.
The Bihar Foundation National Inter-College Crossword Event continues to promote intellectual engagement and encourage students to explore competitive crossword solving. The winners and top-performing teams from the zonal rounds will now advance to the subsequent stages of Bihar Foundation NICE 2026.
