Delaware's Mohan Malhotra wins big on 'Jeopardy!'
Wilmington native Mohan Malhotra was victorious in Thursday's College Championship edition of "Jeopardy!" as he bid small but won big on his way to advancing to the quarterfinals of the two-week tournament.
The Malhotra family held a viewing party at the Hindu Temple Auditorium on Yorklyn Road in Hockessin to watch their son compete on "Jeopardy!" as part of the annual College Championships, along with a crowd of about 250 people to see just how well the 18-year-old from Wilmington fared.
It took a couple tries early on to score – Malhotra could be seen visibly pressing the buzzer but was often beat in the opening sequence; however, he was able to get on the board with the following:
“This site that seems to be missing a vowel in its name is the home for all your photos,” "Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek said.
“What is Flickr?”
“Correct.”
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Now on the board with $800, three consecutive sports-related questions – as part of the category “Athletes,” Mohan correctly stated Golden State Warriors All-Star guard Stephen Curry as the husband of Ayesha Curry, replied that new Dania Beach, Florida, Mayor Tamara James’ previous career was in the Women’s National Basketball Association and identified Dallas Cowboys season-long starter rookie Dak Prescott – gave the New York University freshman an early lead. It was a lead he would not relinquish the rest of the game.
With $2,600 total, Malhotra correctly identified a mythic half-breed as a centaur, bringing his total to $3,000 entering the first commercial break.
With each correct answer, cheers and applauds filled Hindu Temple Auditorium as Mohan, playing against two seniors, looked every bit as if he belonged on the "Jeopardy!" stage.
Entering the second round of the game with a lead of $4,000, Mohan would answer 12 questions correctly, including a Daily Double, to enter Final Jeopardy! with a lead of $14,800. His total placed him almost $6,000 higher than his second-place competitor Allison Holley, a senior from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin.
"This capital’s name is a Latinized form of the name of its country."
By correctly answering “What is Brasilia?” and waging only $800, Mohan secured his advancement to the next round of the College Championship, winning a total of $15,600.
Mahesh Gouru, 19, of Wilmington knew Mohan during their time at the Wilmington Charter School and was ecstatic by his friend's performance. Both competed in quiz tournaments in high school, and Gouru said Malhotra always did well, adding he was happy to see Mohan's success continue.
"Seeing him on 'Jeopardy!' is a nice culmination of all that,” the University of Delaware sophomore said.
Gouru said he was expecting his friend to do well on the long-running game show.
“We don’t expect anything less,” he said. “We’re happy for him and we want to see him win the whole championship."
Malhotra's parents, Arun and Remma, were stunned at the result, but only because Mohan was a freshman going up against two seniors.
“I think he did an amazing job,” Arun Malhotra said. “Truly amazed at today’s performance.”
His mother echoed those sentiments, saying that she's honored that her son got the opportunity to compete on "Jeopardy!" and do well.
“He was calm, composed and able to do very well today ... and I think he played smart," she said.
While Mohan Malhotra can breathe a sigh of relief now that his first showing on "Jeopardy!" was a success, his friends and family will have to wait a bit longer to learn how far he goes in the tournament.
“We still don’t know when he competes next,” Arun Malhotra said. “But we’re happy to support him.”
Contact Alonzo Small at (302) 324-2856 or asmall@delawareonline.com. Follow him on Twitter @P_AlonzoSmall.
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