India, Nov. 21 -- Fifteen school teams from across India on Thursday qualified for the quarter- finals on day one of the two-day Grand Finale of the national inter-school CCCC Cryptic Crossword Contest 2025. On Friday, the event will witness three semi- finals and a final showdown between the three top teams to claim the National Crossword Champion trophy. The Grand Finale of this prestigious annual championship is being held at YMCA Delhi.

As many as 40 teams along with their mentor teachers converged on the national capital from schools across the country on Thursday. After a written preliminary round where each of the two-member teams had to solve a grid of 24 puzzles and an onstage Extra-C Round of cryptic clues with the theme 'India...