Students battle it out for honours

MUSCAT, APRIL 14 - Students, staff and parents from various Indian Schools across the Sultanate thronged the City Amphitheatre Qurum at the weekend to witness the grand finale of the first edition of Indian School Quiz, ISQUIZ 2019. All the teams exhibited their bout of knowledge, wit and excellence to the core in hours long battle of brains. Dr Said bin Hamed al Rubaii, Secretary General, Education Council, was the chief guest and Sarmila Parajuli Dhakal, Ambassador of Nepal to the Sultanate of Oman, and Rakesh Adlakha, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of India, Tariq Hilal al Barwani, founder of Knowledge Oman, were the guests of honour on the occasion.

Dr Said declared ISQUIZ 2019 open in the presence of Embassy officials, luminaries from Indian diaspora, presidents and members of the school management committees, principals, teachers, parents and nearly 4,000 students from different Indian Schools across the Sultanate.

In his introductory message, Dr Baby Sam Saamuel, Chairman, Board of Directors, Indian Schools in Oman congratulated Indian School Darsait for hosting the first edition of ISQUIZ in a spectacular way.

Al Barwani lauded the contribution of India to the world. He underscored the significance of Indian Schools in Oman in permeating knowledge among students and moulding them to face the challenges of the world with courage and fortitude. He also elaborated on the magnificent way the ISQUIZ was organised by Indian School Darsait.

The Quiz Master, renowned quizzer, Vinay Mudaliar from ‘Mindcogs’ Bangalore kept the audience absolutely engaged and spell-bound with his unique ingenuity and style. He ruled the stage for more than three hours making ISQUIZ teams battle, audience whoop, cheer and applaud. It was indeed a battle of brains as the teams exhibited their bout of knowledge, wit and excellence to the core.

The chief guest and other distinguished guests gave away the cash awards of RO 300, 200 and 100 to the winners of the first, second and third positions respectively apart from several enticing sponsored prizes.

In the Junior Category, Lael Alva and Abhay Raaj Mishra of Indian School Al Wadi Al Kabir won the coveted BoD Ever-rolling Trophy and Arhaan Shamraz and Nithin M Das of Indian School Sur secured the first runner-up position while Rohan Suchithran and Aman Saji of Indian School Sohar finished as the second runner-up.

In the Senior Category, Krithivaas Vijay and Aanvik Singh of Indian school Muscat emerged as the winners to clinch the BoD Ever-rolling Trophy in a breath-taking tie breaker against the Sneha Ann Regi and Adithya B Panicker, students of Indian School Darsait who secured the first runner-up slot while Darin Carvalho and Naman Verma of Indian school Salalah emerged as the second runner-up.

Winners in the sub-junior category from each school were also awarded certificates and trophies on the occasion. This was the first time an inter-school quiz had been organised for children in this category.