First ever Times Quiz Challenge in Doon sees huge participation from city schools

DEHRADUN: The semi-finals and finals of the first Times Quiz Challenge presented by The Times of India in association with Bansal classes was held at the Gyananda School on Thursday afternoon.
Overall 8000 students from 21 schools participated in preliminary stages held in respective schools and 168 students had been shortlisted to participate and represent their schools in the quiz challenge.
Speaking to TOI, Quiz Master, Adittya Nath Mubayi said, "Dehradun is the hub of some of the best schools in the nation and certainly I have high expectations. School is the best place to learn quizzing and the trick to get better at it, I guess, lies in practising more and more. The crème de la crème of students is here and it certainly is going to be a fun and exciting quiz challenge for all."
The quiz show kickstarted with a written preliminary round to churn out the best 12 students representing six school teams and started with an interesting question: "Megasthenes was a Greek scholar in the court of Samudragupta - true or false? Other fascinating questions include: Which Indian Bank's logo features a mural from the Harappan civilization?
After the first round of elimination, six school teams made it to the finals including two students each from St.Jude's school, The Asian School, Doon International School, St Joseph Academy, St. Thomas' college and Welham Boys' School.
Giving tough fight to the other teams, Shashwat Badoni and Vidipt Dhasmana from St Joseph's Academy won the TOI Quiz Challenge and Doon International School students were the runners up.
"It was a thrilling experience for all the students and certainly we would love to be back next year. The questions truly made all quiz enthusiasts ponder a lot and we all will go back home a little more knowledgeable and eager to learn more about the world," said Ayush Verma, a class X participant from Summer Valley school.