Date:08/08/2003 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2003/08/08/stories/2003080801981300.htm

National

IIT students trounce U.K.'s best

Chennai Aug. 7. The opening episode of `University Challenge' — the Indian version of a university-popular TV quiz show in the U.K. aired tonight — saw a quartet from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras, trouncing the reigning British team from the London University.

The programme aired by BBC World and compered by India's quiz king, Siddhartha Basu, was a special curtain raiser: Future instalments will be `desi' affairs, involving teams from Indian universities and colleges..

Tonight's episode (the programme is telecast on Thursdays at 10 p.m.) can be viewed for the second time on Sunday at 10 a.m. The Indian students — Ajit Narayanan, Swaroop Venkatesh, Sreeraaman Subramanium and Mohan Ravichandran — can be seen beating the British lads 150 points to 85.