Ludhiana Students Defend National Titles in March ACAD Quad Cryptic Crossword Competition

The results of the ACAD Quad – March Edition have been announced, bringing accolades once again to India’s crosswording community. In a remarkable repeat performance, Ayesha and BhargavVinayak from BCM Arya Model Sr. Secondary School, Ludhiana retained their national leadership positions in the school-level categories of ACAD and ACAD PLUS respectively.

ACAD Quad is a pioneering cryptic crossword competition featuring four specialized versions catering to different age groups and categories of solvers. Hosted online on www.crypticsingh.com, it is an annual contest that promotes intellectual engagement, problem-solving skills, and a global culture of crossword-solving excellence.It is a composite of four parallel monthly contests:

ACAD (for school students only)

ACAD PLUS (for school and college students )

ACAD SENIOR (for crossword veterans and seniors)

ACAD GLOBAL (open to participants worldwide)

ACAD National Winners

• Rank-1: Ayesha, BCM Arya Model Sr. Sec. School, Ludhiana

· Rank-2: Anhad, BCM Arya Model Sr. Sec. School, Ludhiana

• Rank-3: Shraddha Shree, St. Michael’s High School, Patna

ACAD Plus National Winners

• Rank-1: BhargavVinayak, BCM Arya Model Sr. Sec. School, Ludhiana

· Rank-2: Samruddhi Sinai Salgaonkar, Goa Dental College

• Rank-3: SK Shenoy, Virginia Tech, USA

ACAD Senior National Winners

• Rank-1: Sanjoy Gupta, Bengaluru

· Rank-2: Anantakrishnan Narayanan, Pune

• Rank-3: S SParthasarathy, Bengaluru

ACAD Global Winners

India continues to dominate the international leaderboard with a clean sweep. Harish Kamath reclaims the top spot, followed by SamitKallianpur and Ramakrishnan Krishnan, reversing their positions from February’s edition.

• Rank-1: Harish Kamath, India

· Rank-2: SamitKallianpur, India

• Rank-3: Ramakrishnan Krishnan, India

This month’s edition reinforces India’s growing footprint in the international crosswording space while continuing to nurture young talent through daily engagement.

ACAD (A Clue A Day), launched by Extra-C in 2013, has emerged as India’s leading cryptic crossword platform, offering free, high-quality puzzles for all age groups, and serving as a feeder to the World Cryptic Crossword Championship.