Su-doku enthusiasts turned up at Times Su-doku Championship in Delhi

It wasn’t all fun and games when the Delhi regional qualifying round for the Times Su-doku Championship, organised by 'The Times of India', was held on Sunday. Over 1,500 su-doku enthusiasts turned up at the Sri Sathya Sai International Centre auditorium in Delhi, pencils and clipboards in hand, to battle it out with each other.
In the end, the four winners – Sagar Ramchandran (the winner), Akash Doulani (second), Himani Shah (third) and Dileep Singh (fourth) – all turned out to be returning participants.Himani and Akash won last year, and Sagar remembers them both. Himani says, “I can’t even remember how many times I’ve participated now, but I enjoy it.”
A first-time winner, Sagar is a 20-year old B Tech engineering student at Amity University, Noida. He said he came in fifth last year and that he’s been practicing his game using Times Sudoku and apps on his phone for over a month. Clearly, all that practice paid off. Shaking a little bit, Sagar was barely able to mouth the words, “I’m sorry, I’m so excited I can hardly say anything!”
Himani and Akash, winners for the second year in a row, already had the inter-city games in mind. Himani’s a 28-year-old professional and an IIT, Mumbai graduate, while Akash is a 33-year-old entrepreneur with his own business.
Dileep, 23, another new face, didn’t remember his rank last year, but says, “Jab tak nahi jeet jata, tab tak toh aata rehta.” He’s just finished a BE in Civil Engineering from the Delhi School of Engineering, and is working in a load construction company. He’s been practicing and learning su-doku tricks online in anticipation of the championship.
The Times Su-doku Championship is being held across four cities – Bangalore, Chennai, New Delhi and Mumbai. Four winners from each city round will then compete in the finale in Mumbai. Finally, at the end of the nationwide competition, four winners from around the country will be given the opportunity of a lifetime – to represent the country at the World Su-doku Championship in October in Beijing, China. The Times of India will bear the costs towards taking the team to the world championship.