It was in 2010 that 25-year-old Pavan Kumar Akula instantly fell in love with Rubik’s Cube and since then, he has won several competitions and records. On Saturday, he attempted a Guinness Book of World Record to become the ‘fastest to solve a Rubik’s Cube hanging upside down’. The target set by the Guinness officials was to solve the Rubik’s Cube upside down in 30 seconds, and he did it in 17.48 seconds.
Solving the cube itself is a difficult task and doing it hanging upside down must be very challenging. “For the first time, when I attempted to hang upside down, I couldn’t hold on for long. But with practice, I got better,” he says. Even though this is Pavan’s first Guinness attempt, he has his name etched in the Limca Book of Records for making ‘the largest cube mosaic of Bhagat Singh’ with the help of 8,000 Rubik’s Cube in 2013. Pavan had also been doing voluntary work with the World Cube Association, where he teaches kids the nuances to solve Rubik’s Cube.
Long hours of practice go behind his magnificent feat. “When I started in 2010, I used to put in four to five hours, but now half-an-hour practice every day is sufficient.” Pavan has now set his eyes on two more records — ‘most number of solves hanging upside down’ and ‘making dual side mosaic using Rubik’s Cube’. “For the mosaic record, I am looking forward for sponsors and for the other one, I need to work more on my stamina. For getting the record, I may need to hang upside down for more than an hour,” he further adds.
Now, that he has claimed many records and won many competitions, what’s next? “My broader aim is to put Hyderabad on the map of Rubik’s Cube. When I had started doing it, the city was amongst the top in terms of churning out more winners in the sphere of Rubik’s Cube. Worldwide, it is a professional sport and in two years, Hyderabad has slipped the rankings.
Mumbai, Kolkata and other cities have been producing many winners. Hyderabad should start hosting more such competitions. I want to revive it’s position in Rubik’s world,” Pavan says.
