Here are the quizzing prodigies from the ClassAct 2022 Grand Finale

ClassAct 2022, The Hindustan Times Republic Day Quiz has turned out to be one of the most successful online quizzing events ever. It has been declared as Asia’s Largest Online School Quiz by the Asia Book of Records and the India Book of Records. Students from classes I to XII from 32 countries across 5 continents had registered for the Prelims that was held on 23^rd January where a record breaking 19,625 students participated. This record-breaking quiz has been hosted by two of the most celebrated quiz masters of India, Dr. Navin Jayakumar and Mr. Avinash Mudaliar.  The Grand Finale was held on 26^th January and 175 participants who qualified from the preliminary round competed in this mega event. Out of them, 40 winners were declared on 29^th January. Here, we introduce some of them to you.  

One of the champions of ClassAct 2022 Grand Finale, Praneshwar found the entire journey through the Republic Day quiz to be an interesting learning experience.  “It has allowed me to explore and test my knowledge surrounding the quizzing phenomena,” he says. An avid reader of newspapers who loves exploring both domestic and world affairs, his budding quizzer is a district champion. He took up quizzing during his junior school as he wanted to test his own limits. Since there’s not much exposure in his own city while it comes to quizzing, Praneshwar is always keen on exploring opportunities from other places. “I prefer the offline format of quiz to the online one. In the latter, the response time gets delayed,” he adds.  

This young quizzer has been participating in many online quizzes throughout the Covid-19 lockdown. According to him, ClassAct 2022 was one of the best that he has participated in, so far. For Jai Jayesh, this was a great opportunity to grab a lot of new information. “The format of questions in the Grand Finale was slightly tougher yet more creative than the Prelims,” he says. He found the question on ‘dividing the pizza’ in the final round quite challenging. “It contained a Math equation that I hadn’t encountered before,” he says. However, Jai Jayesh loved the way ClassAct 2022 was conducted. “I thoroughly enjoyed how the questions were read out with hints in between. The explanations of the answers were also helpful,” he adds.  

This champion quizzer is an aspiring engineer who loves quizzes in the genre of science and technology and has been quizzing since Grade II. “I am grateful to all my teachers who keep encouraging me from time to time to participate in inter-school quizzes in my hometown,” he shares. Although Jai Jayesh enjoys online quizzes for their convenience, he prefers offline quizzes for their real-life interactive experiences. 

Archit couldn’t believe his luck when he qualified for the Grand Finale of the ClassAct 2022. He had participated in the Prelims in a hurry and was busy preparing for his exams. “This was a pleasant surprise for me. But I owe my success to my parents and they are my greatest influence,” he says. Archit loved the way the quiz questions were framed. “I found the question on ‘John Venn’ to be quite tricky. But the extra information provided by the quizmasters after each answer was very insightful,” he shares. 

Archit, who has been quizzing actively since Grade V, is a debater too. For him, current affairs as well as history and mythology are two favourite genres in quizzing. This avid quizzer prefers offline quizzing to the online format. “On-ground quizzes help create a great bond with the peers,” he says.   

An experienced quizzer, Aarudra loved his journey through ClassAct 2022. “I got to learn a lot and hope it helps me in my future quizzes,” he says. He found the Prelims round quite lengthy. “But I still managed to finish it on time as I knew most of the answers,” he adds. After qualifying for the Grand Finale, Aarudra wasn’t late to start his preparations. “The finals were pretty good. Even though I didn’t know the answers to many questions, I worked around them with the help of the clues provided by the quizmasters,” shares Aarudra. He found the question on ‘Jesse Owens’ to be quite tough yet interesting. "I owe my success to my father who keeps inspiring me to read daily newspapers as well as quiz books. This helps me stay updated on general knowledge and current affairs,” he signs off.  

A quizzer for many years, Jayanth found participating in ClassAct 2022 to be therapeutic amidst his hectic exam prep schedule. According to him, there were both easy and difficult questions in the Finale. “While some could be cracked in a jiffy, others needed you to take some time, and dig in deep," he says. Prior quizzing experience with Dr. Jayakumar made the experience of ClassAct 2022 all the more enjoyable for Jayanth.  

Thanks to his father, Jayanth has been exposed to quizzing from a young age. “Also, Chennai is a hotspot for quizzing. A lot of landmark and Odyssey quizzes are being conducted here throughout the year,” he adds.