Meet the team that got India 6 medals at International Math Olympiad

Indianexpress.com talks to the winners about their experiences, future aspirations, changes in the Indian education system and more

How did you get to know about this Olympiad and how did the team form?

Arjun Gupta: In India, there are various stages for the mathematics traditional model of the Olympiad — regional, National Math Olympiad, and then there are some team selection tests that happen. A lot of people from the country participate in these, and from them nearly 60 people are selected for a camp that takes place in Mumbai.

We emerged as the top six performers from those competitions and the camp, and that is how we were selected to represent India in this Olympiad.

… and how did you guys start bonding as a team?

Atul Shatavart Nadig: Some of us knew each other through common tutors, and some knew each other through several mathematics-related competitions or discord (online). We all started interacting online too, but it was in the camps, such as pre-departure camp, when we met each other in the real world.

Before the actual contest, we had a week long pre-departure camp. And over the first couple of days, we were all just given problems and we were trying to solve them together. That helped us get to know each other better. Finding those answers and completing those exercises together helped us form friendships, and created a team bonding among us.

Did the team bonding exercises or the contest not bring in internal competition?

Ananda Bhaduri: The feeling of performing better than everyone else is natural, and is not limited to this team or the competition. While we work as a team representing our country, however at the end of the day it is an individual competition.

Archit Manas: To make a team you do have to compete and obviously you want to be able to meet others. But once you’ve already made the team, there is a friendly competition, which is really critical. We just want to do our best and it doesn’t necessarily matter if our best is less than what somebody else managed.

Complete India delegation at the International Mathematics Olympiad.

How was your experience at the IMO?

Atul Shatavart Nadig: The whole competition was well-structured. We arrived in Japan on July 6 or 7, and the next day we had the opening ceremony in which all teams were called onto the stage to represent their country. The next few days were all about the actual contest. We were given three problems every day that we had to solve, and each problem was scored out of seven points.

After some grilling days of the competition, we got time to explore the country for the next two days. On the first day, we went to Disneyland in Tokyo, which was a very unique and fun experience. The next day, we had various options, but we chose to visit the Math Museum in Tokyo, and we also did a bit of shopping.

Do you think that the level of competition is getting tougher every year at IMO?

Three of us have experienced IMO earlier. Last year, the level of difficulty was pretty average however, this time the level increased by a bit. The level of questions is getting tougher and so is the competition.

A good thing is that the level of preparedness and quality (in addition to quantity) of students from India is also improving every year, which puts our country at a benefit.

Is the Indian schooling system preparing youngsters for such big competitions?

Archit Manas: The Indian schooling system does a great job of teaching the basics of mathematics. But it is unfortunate that the math we’re taught in school isn’t at all similar to the actual math that’s been used at advanced levels. The math that we are taught at the school level and sometimes above is mostly aimed at people who plan to do engineering, with some topics not even being relevant later.

For example, in middle school, mathematics is purely calculation based, such as multiplying large numbers and then calculating the greatest common divisors. The real math that is needed after college is missing from our curriculum. The Indian education system does give you the basics right, but it lacks in making your foundation a bit more advanced.

What changes would you advise?

Siddharth Choppara: Currently, you are just given the list of theorems, and then its procedures are written down, and you just start to memorise things. It would be much better if math is introduced as an exploratory subject, where you’re really trying to discover new things.

Also, proof-based solving should be introduced earlier as that will help bring that curiosity and fun element in this subject, and will also promote logic-based thinking. Students will be able to enjoy this subject, rather than getting scared or bored. In addition to this, we can also introduce experimental models such as some that we saw in the Math Museum in Tokyo.

What are your future goals now?

Adhitya Venkata Ganesh Mangudy: A majority is us are completing high school currently (or will in a year). With the amount of love and passion we have for this subject, we would all like to pursue a specialisation in Mathematics in the future. If not that, then the second option for the majority of us is a degree in Computer Science, which we can later use to reach our goals in the Mathematics field.

Atul Shatavart Nadig, however, has already cleared his Class 12 and is now heading to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), United States to earn a major in Mathematics and Computer Science.

We all want to come back together for IMO too if allowed, and we are hoping that Atul will mentor us next year.