There was much expectation when the six best teams from 326 took their seats on the stage all set to compete with each other to become the regional winners of the XII edition of The Hindu Young World Quiz 2012.
As many as 652 students from 105 schools in Coimbatore, Tirupur and the Nilgiris from Standards VII to IX thronged the Sarojini Nataraj Auditorium at Shree Baldevdas Kikani Vidya Mandir High School here on Monday to try their luck at the preliminary round of the regional quiz.
Twelve students, in six teams, beat their fellow contestants to make it to the final leg of the quiz, that is the Newspaper in Education (NIE) initiative of The Hindu .
They went through several rounds of invigorating quizzing by quiz master V.V. Ramanan, before one team got selected to represent the region in the grand finale to be held in Chennai on December 7.
And, it was no mean task for the boys of Vidya Niketan Public School as they scored a whopping 122 points over the first runner-up team from Vidya Niketan Matriculation Higher Secondary School which scored 81.
Winners S. Gowtham and M. Harshanthram, Standard IX students, led the contest from the word ‘go’. They were not surprised over the win as they had “prepared only to win”.
“We keep quizzing ourselves and each other for fun. We have taken part of several quizzes, but this was different as the contestants were high in number and also the questions in the final round were very varied and covered a magnitude of topics, both national and international,” said the winners who are eager to meet other regional contestants in the grand finale.
Quiz master Ramanan did not allow for a single dull moment as he kept the posers coming. Contestants and eager school students, who made the audience, were hooked trying to get the answers right for which the latter got a bag full of goodies from sponsors.
The questions covered history, geography, sports, fiction, general knowledge, music and films.
Content over the region’s performance, the quiz master said that though the score in the preliminary round was not very appreciative, the six teams rose up to the occasion in the final leg.
“It is a common trend that a team that sets the pace in the first round ends up winning. Coimbatore students have always done very well. But they are yet to clinch the title at the grand finale,” Mr. Ramanan said.
As the three-hour long quizzing was nearing its conclusion, it was none other than playback singer Srinivas who made a special appearance to appreciate the teams and reward the winners.
Lauding the students for being focused, he urged them to make use of their skills for the country.
“Even if you go abroad, make it a point to return to give back to the country. We need your brains,” he made a plea.
In addition to the goodies he gave away to the winners, he also crooned for them the “Endrendrum Punnagai” number from “Alaipaaiyuthe”.
Gifts
Gowtham and Harshanthram received a purse of Rs. 12,000 from The Hindu and a whole lot of goodies from sponsors, including a bicycle from Firefox.
S. Arjun and S. Rohith, first runners-up from Vidya Niketan Matriculation Higher Secondary School, received a purse of Rs. 8,000 and goodies, while second runners-up V. Girrish and M. Yogesh from SSVM World School, received a purse of Rs. 6,000 and gifts.
All students received participation certificates and gifts for having taken part in “India’s largest school quiz held in 16 cities”.
The presenting sponsor is Britannia Milk Bikis Future Minds, associate sponsors are Indian Overseas Bank, VIT University, Firefox, Gold Winner, and Black Thunder, gift sponsors are Success note books, Reynolds pens, and S Mart, outdoor gear partner is Wild Craft, and beverage sponsor is Real Fruit Juice.
The regional sponsor is Zee Institute of Creative Art. Regional gift sponsors are Banaanaa Slice, Sri Krishna Sweets, Milka Wonder Cake, Wynn Retail Garment Store, Vaamaa Oil, Aroma Milk, and Zimson watches. Event manager is Iads and Events.
The online quiz for students from Standards IV to IX, presented by Britannia Milk Bikis Future Minds, will be open till November 25. Students can register by logging on to the websitewww.thehindu.com/ywq. Lucky ones can win Apple iPads and HCL tablets.
