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Nail-biting finish to UAE School Quiz

Suvo Sarkar from Emirates NBD; Troy James, teacher-in-charge of GEMS Modern Academy team; winners Akshay Kalyanasundaram, Suyash Saxena and Shreyas Narayanan; and quiz master C.K. Jaidev pose for a photograph after the UAE School Quiz at Shaikh Rashid Auditorium, Dubai. — KT photo by Leslie Pableo

Dubai - The fourth edition of the Emirates NBD UAE School Quiz held on Saturday at Shaikh Rashid Auditorium, Dubai, went down to the wire. In a closely contested final, GEMS Modern Academy won the title in a tie breaker.

     Their answer to the only Olympic contact sport which does not have a weight category (fencing) landed them the exquisite Crystal Trophy and an iPhone 6 for each of the three members — Akshay Kalyan, Suyash Saxena and Sreyas Narayanan.

The Abu Dhabi Indian School came a close second, while The Indian High School Dubai bagged the third place.

 The finalists won attractive Apple products — iPads/iPad minis and mall gift vouchers. As a unique gesture, the teachers-in-charge of the top three teams were presented with mementos.

Emirates NBD presented this event along with Khaleej Times, Quiz Dubai, Marmum and Al Ain Water. The quiz had an overwhelming response with participation from 36 schools across all the seven Emirates comprising about 550 students.

The standard of the participants was exceptional with hardly any question going unanswered — to cheers and applause from an animated and enthusiastic audience. The questions included identifying the chemical reaction which activates the safety air bag in a car, the name of UAE’s mission to Mars (Hope), the metal which is connected to the old name of France and melts at room temperature (Gallium) and the footballer who sends his hairstylist every month to check on his waxwork image (Cristiano Ronaldo).

Quiz master C.K. Jaidev kept the packed auditorium on the edge of their seats with plenty of audience prizes which included selfie sticks, headphones and gift vouchers. Jaidev randomly picked out students to answer.  The students were evidently sharp as they lapped up all the audience prizes that were up for grabs.

On the sidelines of the event, R. Sivaram, senior vice-president, Emirates NBD, and one of the founding members of Quiz Dubai, said: “The UAE School Quiz has grown from strength to strength to become a calendar event for schools. Emirates NBD in partnership with Quiz Dubai is committed to support this event which promotes knowledge and learning. We also hope to expand this in future for middle school students too.”

reporters@khaleejtimes.com