On November 18, over 3,500 students from 50 different schools around the world will gather at Yale University, U.S., to take part in the Tournament of Champions. And, while that might sound like a jousting challenge, this is part of the World Scholar’s Cup, where the kids will parry their knowledge and intelligence, hone their talents and discover new ones.

It is on this international stage that 18 students from Chennai will be competing. They’ve made it through some rigorous regional and global rounds, and are making their way to Yale this week. Trained by Shaan Katari Libby of A to Zee Creativity, this is the first time that such a large contingent has made it to the tournament in the last 10 years.

Says Shaan, “We’re very proud of these kids for working so hard. At the World Scholar’s Cup, they will have the chance to interact with and learn directly from Yale students and faculty. Last year, we had three students who went to Yale, although six had qualified. This year has been very special so far; hopefully, they will do their country and their schools proud.”

To begin with, the students did the Regionals in Chennai in April 2016, and qualified for the Global Round by placing in the top 15 per cent. “This led to the Globals in Bangkok / Prague, where they competed against 3,000-plus students in each division (Seniors/Juniors) from around the world. They placed in the top 10 per cent, which meant qualification for the Tournament of Champions at Yale,” explains Shaan. They will compete in teams of three.

The schools in the A to Zee Creativity delegation are Sishya, KC High, DAV Boys, DAV Girls, P.S. Senior Secondary and Chennai Public School.

The participating students are Adam Libby, Anirudh Satish, Srinika Rajanikanth, Vichar Lochan, Nila Srinivas, Hrsh Venket, Sanjith Krishna, Vivaaan Nanavati, Tejas Narayan, Ridhi Agarwal, Vanshika Bhaiya, Rohan Manoj, Vipasha Gupta, Tarasha Dugar, Udhav Goenka, Guhan Kallapiran, Vedant Mimani and Naveen Varma.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Opinion> Features> Metroplus / Susanna Myrtle Lazarus / Chennai – November 15th, 2016