Patna: A student from Pune has topped the national rankings in the practice round of the 14th edition of the inter-school CCCC Cryptic Crossword Contest, with participants from Bihar — including smaller towns — making a notable mark.
Sahil Sandeep Sabne of Suryadatta National School secured the top position, competing as a solo participant in the contest, widely known as CCCC among school students across India.
The runner-up position was claimed by the team of Anjali Nanduri and Aradhya Ranjith from Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s Public School (Vidyashram), Hyderabad, while Dhairya Pandey of Don Bosco Academy finished third nationally.
From Bihar, Nanya Dev Singh of Delhi Public School Patna emerged as the state topper, competing solo. The results also highlighted strong performances from other regions, with teams from Delhi and Telangana leading their respective state rankings.
Bihar’s growing presence
The practice round results suggest a rising enthusiasm for the competition in Bihar, particularly among students from smaller towns.
In Darbhanga, Sourya Srivastava of Cinderella English School topped the city rankings as a solo participant. In Bhagalpur, the team of Yubraj Anand and Saksham Singh from Mount Assisi School secured the top position, while Shivam Kumar Jha from SDDNG Government High School led in Araria.
Further, a team from EMRS AASTA in Jamui — comprising Mayank Besra and Bishnu Murmu — topped the local merit list.
Girls outperforming expectations
Girls’ participation also stood out, with several all-girls teams securing top ranks across districts.
In Ara (Bhojpur), Anchal Kumari and Rekha Kumari from Dr BR Ambedkar Residential Girls’ School topped the list, while teams from Lakhisarai, Aurangabad and Muzaffarpur also secured leading positions, reflecting a broader trend of strong female participation.
What lies ahead
The CCCC, described as one of the world’s largest school crossword contests, follows a hybrid online-offline format. While the practice round does not contribute to final scores, it allows participants to familiarise themselves with the competition’s format and difficulty.
The preliminary stage will now move to three online scoring rounds scheduled on April 12, 19 and 26. Successful participants will progress to a second stage of online competition, followed by an offline grand finale in the national capital later this year, where the national crossword champion will be crowned.
Organisers said the growing participation from diverse regions reflects the contest’s expanding reach and the increasing popularity of word-based competitions among school students.
