The India’s largest Online Competition ‘National SIP Abacus and Mental Arithmetic Competition’—“National Prodigy 2021â€Â announced virtually winners of the fiercely fought competition. 2000 kids, parents from across the country have participated in the virtual program that continued till late evening on Wednesday.Â
Hyderabad’s world’s fastest human calculator Bhanu Prakash was the chief guest for the vitual conference which was hosted on Zoom and Live on FB..
Seventeen kids emerged champions from the competition which was competed by 27000 kids from 20 states and 182 towns from across India.
What was so surprising was kids from smaller towns, though new to online learning, mastered the art and emerged victoriously.
Another interesting feature was two boys from the same family became National Champions in two different categories. They are Omkar Azad Shirke, a Champion in Foundation Level 2 B and his younger brother Ashish Axad Shirke, Champion in Foundation Level 1B. Both are from Saswad, Pune.
The awards were announced in four broad categories —Foundation, Advanced, Grand Master(GM) and Alumnus
The champions at the Foundation level include: Rajdeep from Deogarh, Jharkhand; Saurav Devulapally from Hyderabad, Telengana; Sylesh S. Pillai from Trivandrum, Kerala; Anushka Goel from Shamli in Uttar Pradesh; Badrid Bairag from Guwahati, Assam; Omkar Azad Shirke from Saswad, Pune in Maharashtra ; Satya Harini from Tirupathi in Andhra Pradesh; Aashish Shirke from Saswad, Pune in Maharshtra and Hriyan Kaushik Thakuria from Guwahati in Assam
The Champions of Advance Levels include: Shreyash Kadam from Pune; Saanvi Jain from Bhopal ,Madhya Pradesh; Rabee from Kolkata West Bengal and Aster Monthiero from Pune, Maharashtra.
Alumnus and Grand Master Champions–Keshav Garg from Muzaffarnagar, UP; Krushna Ubale, Saswad, Pune in Maharashrata; Krishik Sai Y from Puducherry, and Ujjwal Bhushan from Dhanbad, Jharkhand.
Undeterred by the stress, fear, grief, isolation, depression, hopelessness, anxiety and uncertainty created by the COVID-19 pandemic the children proved their mettle against all odds and demonstrated to the world that they are quick and easily adaptable to changed circumstances. They not only adapted and embraced the technology so well, but they also proved their mettle and excelled too in what is considered India’s largest Online Mental Arithmetic Competition, informed Dinesh Victor, MD of SIP Academy and a Champion for Skill Development for Children in India.
Hyderabad’s Neelakantha Bhanu Prakash , the “World’s Fastest Human Calculator”, who holds 50 Limca Book of Records was the chief guest. He is also a SIP Abacus alumnus. While addressing the 2000 plus online gathering on Zoom and FB Live he said competitions like this helps to train the brain and builds its power
Participating in these difficult times is very appreciable. Especially where children are staying away from classrooms, friends and playing outdoors may lead to feeling depressed, hopeless, anxious and angry. Though fortunately, COVID spared kids so far is not so kind to their minds. Competitions like Prodigy 2021 organised by SIP Academy, India’s biggest children skilling organization, keeps children engaged and occupied constructively. If you love something, you can build structures and institutions he said. Â
Dinesh Victor, MD of SIP Academy, who is one of the names to reckon in India on the subject of Skills Development in children and championing that cause said 200 million of 7 to 14 years old kids have been subjected to a lot of struggle in the past one year due to the Pandemic. But, it is equally important to note the resilience kids have shown. Kids adapted so quickly to the online mode, much faster than their parents. Ability to adapt to the changing circumstance quickly and being innovative helps to face any challenges in life he said.Â
The competition held in three rounds—01. The Centre Level, which had 27000 participants, from which 17000 were shortlisted to qualify for State level, from which 4000 were filtered to compete nationally. Seventeen out of 4000 kids emerged as Champions at the National Finals of the SIP Abacus and Mental Arithmetic Competition.
Each Champion is awarded with a Special Trophy and a certificate as is done every year. This year they will be delivered to their residence.
It was organized by SIP Academy which runs world-class skill development programs making a significant impact on the mental potential of children. It is known for creating child prodigies with razor-sharp intellects.
It was the first-ever Online Completion. It has been an offline competition for the past 17 years. But, due to the changed circumstances, it has gone online which helped in wider participation from the length and breadth of the nation.
This massive contest was conducted entirely online this year. A specially designed software was created that allowed children to take part in the competition from the comfort of their home.