Patna: Two students from Hyderabad have secured the top position in the first online round of the national inter-school CCCC Cryptic Crossword Contest 2026. Anjali Nanduri and Aradhya Ranjith, from Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s Public School, Vidyashram, performed better than participants from across the country to become national toppers. Their achievement marks a strong beginning to the competition, which is known for testing students’ language skills and logical thinking.
Other participants also performed well in the first round. Dhairya Pandey, a solo contestant from Don Bosco Academy in Patna, secured second place at the national level. Avni Atul Aslekar, another solo participant from Bharat English School and Junior College in Pune, finished third. The contest allows both team and individual participation, giving students different ways to compete.
The championship is currently in Phase I, which includes three online rounds. While the first round has already been completed, the next two rounds will be held on April 19 and April 26. Students who are interested can still register and take part in the upcoming rounds. Those who perform well in this phase will move to the next stage, where they will compete in an online face-to-face round.
The competition will end with a final round to be held later this year in the national capital. Only the best-performing students from earlier stages will qualify for this grand finale. The contest is supported by the Rural Electrification Corporation and aims to encourage students to improve their vocabulary, thinking ability and problem-solving skills.
Along with national rankings, state-level toppers have also been announced. Anjali Mishra from Darbhanga secured the top position in Bihar, while Sahil Sandeep Sabne topped in Maharashtra. In Punjab, Anhad Kaur and Divya Dhiman led the rankings. Other notable performers include students from Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Assam, showing participation from different parts of the country.
At the city level, Nanya Dev Singh and Hemang Chandra from DPS Patna emerged as the top team in Patna. Several other students from cities like Pune, Dehradun and Bhagalpur also performed well. The competition continues to attract students nationwide and remains one of the largest school-level crossword contests in the country.
