New Delhi: Students from Bihar emerged among the top performers at the CCCC National Cryptic Crossword Contest 14.0, with Nanya Dev Singh and Hemang Chandra of DPS Patna winning the Overall Winner Trophy in the online stage of the competition.
The runners-up trophy was awarded to Dhairya Pandey of Don Bosco Academy, Patna, while the second runners-up award went to Shubhi Srivastava and Sudhanshu Nayak of Darbhanga Public School.
The winners were felicitated at a special awards ceremony held at YMCA Delhi, where participants from the CCCC National Cryptic Crossword Contest and the ACAD School crossword programme were honoured for their achievements.
The CCCC is a national inter-school crossword competition conducted in an online-offline format, while ACAD School is a year-long online crossword programme designed for individual student participation.
CAG Highlights Importance Of Critical Thinking
The event was attended by Comptroller and Auditor General of India, K. Sanjay Murthy, as the chief guest.
Addressing the gathering, Murthy underscored the importance of critical thinking, reading habits and intellectual curiosity among students in an increasingly knowledge-driven world.
Several senior officials and education advocates also attended the programme, including Vivek Kumar Singh, Chairman of RERA Bihar and Chief Mentor of Extra-C; Shailesh Kumar, Commissioner, GST; Balamurugan D., Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs; and Divesh Sehra, Secretary of the Rural Works Department, Government of Bihar.
The dignitaries praised crossword-based learning as an effective tool for enhancing vocabulary, analytical thinking and academic performance.
Winners Across Competition Rounds
In Round 1 of the CCCC competition, Anjali Nanduri and Aradhya Ranjith of Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan’s Public School (Vidyashram) secured first place. Dhairya Pandey finished as runner-up, while Avni Atul Aslekar of Bharat English School claimed third place.
Round 2 saw Dhairya Pandey take the top honours. Nanya Dev Singh and Hemang Chandra of DPS Patna secured second place, while Avani Fiske and Mudraa Paidarkar of SES Gurukul finished third.
In Round 3, Nanya Dev Singh and Hemang Chandra claimed first prize. Anjali Nanduri and Aradhya Ranjith finished second, while Bittu Kumar and Shahil Kumar of Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar School, Begusarai, secured third place.
ACAD School Winners Recognised
The ceremony also recognised outstanding performers in the ACAD School 2026 programme.
Among those honoured were Bittu Kumar, Aditya Raj, Ravi Kishan, Dilkhus Kumar and Gopal Kumar of Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar School, Begusarai, along with Saptak Gupta of DPS Patna.
The students were recognised for their consistent performance in monthly competitions conducted throughout the academic year.
Promoting Crossword-Based Learning
The competitions are organised by Extra-C, a civil society initiative that promotes crossword-solving as a learning and educational tool.
The organisation conducts a range of crossword events annually for different age groups, with the broader objective of encouraging critical thinking and language development through puzzles.
Extra-C is also expanding its activities internationally. Two new events — US Triple C and Canada Triple C — are scheduled to be held online on July 5, 12, 19 and 26. Organisers said the larger objective is to create a crossword fraternity globally.
