Patna: Girl students once again emerged as the standout performers in Round I of the Bihar Foundation National Inter-College Crossword Expedition (NICE) 2026, with participants from institutions across the country securing top national, zonal and state honours.
The competition, organised by Extra-C and the Crossword Federation of India (CWFI) with support from the Bihar Foundation and the Central Bank of India, announced the results of its second stage (I-Round), recognising outstanding performances in competitive crossword solving.
National Winners
Adya Singh of St. Stephen’s College, New Delhi, was declared the National Champion. Tisha Taneja of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras secured the second position, while Arnav V. Raju of IIT Delhi finished third.
According to the organisers, participants demonstrated strong vocabulary, reasoning and analytical abilities during the competition.
National Winners
| Position | Winner | Institution |
| 1 | Adya Singh | St. Stephen’s College, New Delhi |
| 2 | Tisha Taneja | Indian Institute of Technology Madras |
| 3 | Arnav V. Raju | Indian Institute of Technology Delhi |
Girls Continue Strong Showing
Female participants featured prominently in the championship, with Adya Singh and Tisha Taneja claiming the top two national positions. Women competitors also secured several zonal and state titles, reflecting their continued success in competitive crossword solving.
The organisers said the performances highlighted the high standard of competition witnessed across the three rounds conducted so far. The remaining C Round and E Round of NICE are scheduled to be held on the coming Sundays.
Zonal Winners
Top performers from five zones were recognised for their performances:
| Zone | Winner | Institution |
| East | Shivani Kumari | Government Engineering College, Vaishali |
| South | Nikilesh Gudalur Krishnaram | Indian Institute of Technology Madras |
| North-East | Shrawon Dey | Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati |
| North | Divyam Jain | Indian Institute of Technology Delhi |
| West | Anju Sengar | Government College, Joura, Morena |
State Winners
Students from several states were also honoured for their performances.
| State | Winner | Institution |
| Bihar | Sohamm Sarthak Sinha | IGIMS Medical College, Patna |
| Tamil Nadu | Advaith S. V. | National Institute of Technology Tiruchirappalli |
| Assam | Baidurya Ghosh | Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati |
| Karnataka | Vaibhav Shekhar | National Law School of India University |
| Manipur | Om Kumar Jha | National Institute of Technology Manipur |
| Uttar Pradesh | Darpan Rathi | IIT (BHU), Varanasi |
| Delhi | Seerat Kaur | Indian Institute of Technology Delhi |
| Telangana | V. Krishna Sai Gayatri | BITS Pilani Hyderabad Campus |
| Haryana | Aditya Sharma | Krea University |
| Uttarakhand | Sidhra Naaz | Kumaun University |
| Madhya Pradesh | Manju Sengar | Government College, Joura |
| Himachal Pradesh | Modit Thakur | Institute of Hotel Management, Hamirpur |
| Tripura | Tripti Chakraborty | Maharaja Bir Bikram College |
Participation Across Disciplines
The championship attracted students from engineering, medicine, law, management, humanities, sciences and other academic disciplines, reflecting the growing appeal of crossword solving as an educational activity.
According to the organisers, the competition promotes analytical thinking, language proficiency, problem-solving and lateral thinking among students.
Organisers Praise Participants
Congratulating the winners, the organisers said the consistently high scores reflected the increasing acceptance of crossword solving as a tool for strengthening vocabulary, reasoning, communication and critical thinking skills.
They also congratulated all participants who competed in Round I and encouraged them to prepare for the remaining rounds. The organisers said Bihar Foundation NICE has evolved into one of India’s leading inter-college intellectual competitions, providing students with a national platform to demonstrate their linguistic and analytical abilities.
