A six-week nationwide hunt for India's first mobile gaming champion ended on Sunday in Mumbai with Sachin Sapra from Gurgaon winning the title.
Sapra is now the country's first mobile gaming icon after he lifted the N-Gage QD Challenge mobile gaming trophy.
Sachin competed against 62 mobile gamers from around the country for the first place and recorded a score of 4,240 while playing "Hero Commando" on N-Gage QD, Nokia's latest mobile gaming device. The prize -- Rs 10 lakh.
The second prize of Rs 50,000 went to Mohammad Abdul Rahim Akbar of Chennai; the third prize of Rs 30,000 was awarded to Raman Sapra from Gurgaon; the fourth place and Rs 20,000 went to Devesh Sahai, also from Gurgaon.
The grand finale of the championship was held at Priyadarshini Park at Napean Sea Road in Mumbai.
Over 26,000 gamers from more than 40 cities in India participated in the championship, which was launched on September 14, 2004.
An ecstatic Sachin said: "When I first heard about the championship, I was sure I wanted to participate but did not expect to become the winner."
On becoming a 'millionaire', he said: "It feels great. Rs 10 lakh is good money. I have not yet decided as to what I want to do with this amount."
Talking about the success of the championship, Gautam Advani, Multimedia Business Director, Nokia India, said: "We are extremely pleased with the enthusiastic response. Having reached out to over 26,000 gaming enthusiasts across 47 cities in six weeks, we believe that India is on the verge of a gaming revolution."
