Solving just one puzzle cube is an accomplishment, but one cube isn’t enough for Irving Middle School student Sai Charan Kintali. The America Book of Records has recognized the eighth grader for solving 50 puzzle cubes in record time — 6 minutes and 50 seconds. 

The accomplishment comes with another win: Sai says practicing for the record also helped him academically.

Sai became interested in solving the puzzles about four years ago when he found a cube in his house and started watching online videos explaining how to solve it. He now practices for one to two hours each day. This work isn’t just paying off in the record books. Sai says it’s helping him improve his grades. “My focus is way better now,” he explained. “My ability to concentrate in class has improved, from barely focusing during tests to getting all A’s. My listening skills also improved.”

“Cubing,” as he calls it, has also helped him set goals: “When I started,” explained Sai, “I was averaging [solving a cube in] around one minute. I decided I wanted to get my time down to 10 seconds by the end of the month.” It’s a skill that also helps him in school: “Like in English, if I have an essay due tomorrow, I’ll say, ‘I’ll finish it by tonight,’ and then I get it done.”

Sai hopes his cubing journey will inspire his classmates to set their own goals. “If you set a goal,” he advised, “you have to work towards it and make sure it’s something you’re passionate about. You also need to know how to reach it in the first place before setting it.”

Sai’s latest record follows a similar record he set in the India Book of Records in November, solving the same number of cubes in 8 minutes and 24 seconds. In an added twist, each cube Sai solved has a unique shape and pattern. Some look like traditional puzzle cubes, while others are much different, from pyramid shapes to puzzles shaped like fruits.

“Since nobody had ever done it before, I’m the fastest teen,” Sai proclaimed. “In the India Book of Records, the previous record was 35 cubes, and I demolished that record.”

Sai is already working toward his next big cubing goal: getting his name in the Guinness Book of World Records. He hopes to set it within five tries, but he admits “sitting and solving cubes” won’t be enough. He’s already crafting a plan for his world record attempt to stand out: “I’m thinking of going overboard,” he mused, “putting all the cubes on a table, solving them while riding a hoverboard, and doing 15 in a row, then I’ll send in the footage.”

Whether it’s acing a test, or setting a record with a few quick twists, Sai is living proof that anyone can accomplish their goals.