Kids & Family

Cheshire Students Win First Lego League Challenge Robotics State Championship

Five Cheshire middle school students, the Jedi Knights, will represent Connecticut in the World Finals after winning the state championship.

Vincent Salzo's profile picture
Vincent Salzo, Patch StaffVerified Patch Staff Badge
|
https://patch.com/img/cdn20/users/22791208/20220125/044141/styles/patch_image/public/jediknightswithrobot___25163858372.jpg
The Jedi Knights with their competition robot, from left to right: Auritro Dasgupta, Shreyas Illindala, Lekhan Nair (back), Yashovardhan Biswas (with robot), and Rishi Hegde. (Shweta Hegde)
https://patch.com/img/cdn20/users/22791208/20220125/044141/styles/patch_image/public/jedi-knights-state-trophy___25163932092.jpg
The team holds their trophies after winning the state championship at Glastonbury High School in December. From left to right are: Lekhan Nair, Auritro Dasgupta (kneeling), Rishi Hegde, and Yashovardhan Biswas. (Shreyas Illindala is missing from photo). (Shweta Hegde)
https://patch.com/img/cdn20/users/22791208/20220125/044141/styles/patch_image/public/chimkin-state___25164052491.jpg
The competition robot, which the kids named "Chimkin." (Shweta Hegde)

CHESHIRE, CT — A group of Cheshire middle school students will represent Connecticut this spring in the World Finals of the First Lego League Challenge Robotics Competition after recently winning the state championship.

The Jedi Knights team consists of five students from Dodd Middle School in Cheshire, including seventh-graders Rishi Hegde, Lekhan Nair, Auritro Dasgupta, Shreyas Illindala and eighth-grader Yashovardhan Biswas. The team was coached by parents Shweta Hegde and Bivash Dasgupta.

The Force was strong with the Jedi Knights when they cleared the qualifying round at Wolcott on Nov. 22 and then brought home the 2021 state championship at the state finals at Glastonbury High School on Dec. 11, where 36 teams from all over Connecticut participated.

Find out what's happening in Cheshirefor free with the latest updates from Patch.

The Jedi Knights will next represent Connecticut in the First Lego League Challenge (9-16-year-old division) Robotics Competition World Finals in Houston, Texas in April. Teams from all 50 states in the U.S. will compete with teams from other countries to determine the world champion.

Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

More from Cheshire