Patna: India’s crosswording prowess was on full display once again as the results of the ACAD Quad – March Edition were announced, with young solvers from Ludhiana and Patna securing top spots across categories.
In a repeat of past performances, Ayesha and Bhargav Vinayak from BCM Arya Model Senior Secondary School, Ludhiana, retained their national leadership positions in the ACAD and ACAD PLUS categories respectively, cementing their status among the country’s brightest school-age puzzlers.
ACAD Quad, a pioneering initiative hosted online by crypticsingh.com, features four parallel cryptic crossword competitions tailored to different age groups: ACAD (school students), ACAD PLUS (school and college), ACAD SENIOR (veterans), and ACAD GLOBAL (open to all). The monthly event encourages intellectual engagement and aims to cultivate a global crossword-solving culture.
In the ACAD category, Ayesha clinched the top spot nationally, followed by fellow BCM Arya student Anhad, while Shraddha Shree of St Michael’s High School, Patna, secured third place.
Bhargav Vinayak led the ACAD PLUS category once again, ahead of Samruddhi Sinai Salgaonkar from Goa Dental College and SK Shenoy from Virginia Tech in the US.
Among veterans, Bengaluru’s Sanjoy Gupta topped the ACAD SENIOR leaderboard, followed by Anantakrishnan Narayanan of Pune and S S Parthasarathy, also from Bengaluru.
India dominated the ACAD GLOBAL category as well, with Harish Kamath reclaiming the first position, ahead of Samit Kallianpur and Ramakrishnan Krishnan—reversing the ranks from February’s edition.
Since its launch in 2013 by Extra-C, ACAD (A Clue A Day) has become a flagship cryptic crossword platform in India, offering free daily puzzles and serving as a feeder to the World Cryptic Crossword Championship. With consistent national and international success, India’s crosswording community continues to grow, engaging thousands of solvers and nurturing emerging talent across the globe.
