IIT Delhi's Arush Utkarsh and Harshul Sagar Achieve Historic Third Consecutive Win at NICE 2024

Arush Utkarsh and Harshul Sagar, the dynamic duo from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, have secured their third consecutive victory in the National Inter-college Crossword Expedition (NICE 2024). This historic win marks a significant milestone in the crossword community. Trailing closely behind on the leaderboard is VKS Gayatri from BITS Pilani (Hyderabad Campus), who impressed both the crossword master and arbiters with her detailed explanations and reasoning behind each cryptic clue.

The competition was fierce, with participants battling through four intense online rounds and five zonal rounds. The top 19 teams from across the nation converged in New Delhi for the two-day Grand Finale event, showcasing their crossword prowess. The path to victory was challenging, with participants navigating written prelims, seven Extra-C rounds, three quarter-finals, two semi-finals and one grand finale round, ultimately leading to the crowning of the NICE 2024 champions.

Final Rankings of NICE 2024:

• Rank 1: Arush Utkarsh and Harshul Sagar (IIT Delhi)

• Rank 2: VKS Gayatri (BITS Pilani Hyderabad Campus)

• Rank 3: Abhinav and Sahana (Sanmugha Arts, Science, Technology and Research Academy)

Several distinguished dignitaries were present in the event including S Krishnan, IAS, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Govt. of India, Sanjay Murthy, IAS, Secretary, Ministry of Education, Govt. of India, Vivek Singh, IAS, Chairman, RERA, Bihar, TG Sitaram, Chairman, AICTE and Abhay Jere, Vice Chairman, AICTE.

In his address, S Krishnan, IAS, congratulated the participants and winners, expressing his commitment to providing the necessary support, infrastructure, and resources to promote crosswords in India. Sharing his vision, the Chief Mentor of NICE 2024 and Chairman, of RERA, Bihar, Vivek Kumar Singh, announced the launch of ACAD GLOBAL, Crossword World Cup Championship 2025, and crossword contests in several regional languages next year.

The Roll of Honor was awarded to individuals whose exceptional contributions and hard work played a pivotal role in the success of NICE 2024. The awardees included:

• Prof. Utpal Chattopadhyay, IIM Mumbai

• Dr. Amit Dutta, Director, AICTE

• Prof. Rana Singh, Director, Chandragupt Institute of Management, Patna

• Sri Kumod Singh, CEO, Chandragupt Institute of Management, Patna

• Sri Raj Narayan Singh, National Coordinator, Extra-C

• Ms. Unsa Siddiqui, Director, Corporate Relations