Singapore Institute of Management clinch dramatic finale

The 2018-19 Singapore,12th edition of Tata Crucible for campuses held on 26th October, saw a large participation from 194 students (97 teams) across major universities. The quiz started with ace quizmaster Pickbrain presenting a set of 20 questions in a preliminary round. This led to the top 8 teams in the finale, including 2 teams from a quick wild card round.

The finale was a thriller with all teams battling their way through the rounds. The early phases of the quiz being dominated by Ang Wei Loong and Pung Tuck Weng of NTU, followed by Anjan Raina and Ramakrishna Krishnan of NUS.

It was well past half way that the duo from Singapore Institute of Management (SIM) started scoring but did so with great vigour to bounce back into the game very quickly. The rounds that followed were tense, but in the end, it was SIM represented by Shalini Gupta and Muthyala Rajendra Vikhyat who clinched the title in style.

Some of the intriguing questions included “Belgium has petitioned the UNESCO for a product that is believed to have been born in Namur Belgium, though the world believes otherwise. What product is this?” - and the answer is “French Fries”.

Another interesting question was “Gammarelli is a tailoring outfit that has been around since 1798. The same family have been running it now for generations. Which individual do they cater to?” - and the answer is “Pope”.

The 2nd runner up scored with confident answering as “London Bridge” to question, “What landmark was auctioned in 1962 to Robert McCulloch for $2,460,000 and was dismantled and moved brick by brick to Lake Havasu City, Arizona, USA, where it was reassembled and opened in 1971?”

On this occasion, Mr. K. V. Rao, Resident Director, ASEAN Region, Tata Sons said “We’re celebrating 150 years and we are very pleased to see that today we have the ever-highest registration of students. In the coming years, we look forward to more participation from institutions, universities in the ASEAN region as well, to come to Singapore and participate in this event.”

Chief guest for the evening, Nominated Member of Parliament, Mr Abbas Ali Mohamed Irshad, presented the prizes to the winning teams. Delighted to be at the event he said, “You have to have an inquisitive mind to make sure that you progress in life and you don’t take status quo for granted, and you make improvement not just for yourself or personal development but also rally people around you to progress with you... Further you have to have the right intention and the belief in any cause that you choose and after you have done that, you have to just do it.” Interestingly, the chief guest was a former runner-up of this very quiz for two consecutive years.

SIM was the host partner university from this edition and Dr. Lee Kwok Cheong, Chief Executive Officer, SIM Holdings said, “It is very much an educational experience for all the contestants. And I see this in action. It’s not only about knowledge but also team work. How to handle stress, and also strategy.”

Second time winner Ms. Shalini Gupta from Singapore Institute of Management expressed her joy and said, “It felt really good when it finally paid off. There’s a lot of effort put into it and it feels good after it pays off.”

The 2nd runner up from Nanyang Technological University, Pung Tuck Weng said, “The reason why I had the answer to one of the question on board was that I brought my parents to this place in US, in Arizona, where we happened to stumble upon London bridge. That made me have this strong memory of the history behind the London Bridge. I think it made me realize that general knowledge is all about your life experiences.”

The winners and runners-up will be invited to the international finale of the quiz slated to be held in India in 2019.