By Mrs. Radhika Sinha
Principal
Sarala Birla Academy

Standing L to R: Ankit Daswani, Aman Gaur, Ram Prashanth, Dhruvik Talaviya, Siddharth Agarwal, Abhishek Agarwal, Hemant Saraf and Raghav Fatehpuria. Sitting: Centre: Mr.Prodipta Hore (Team Leader) Third from Left: Mr.Sudip Mukherjee (Deputy Team Leader)

Eight students from the Sarala Birla Academy (SBA) participated in the Invitational World Youth Mathematics Inter City Competition held at Jilin University, Changchun, China. Our teams were presented with a gold medal for their enthusiastic participative spirit and their team efforts across the various aspects and activities of the competition. The exposure to a competition of such a high standard, has left them thinking of how they can work towards those heights. The students also clinched the best performance award for the cultural night.

From negative infinity to plus infinity
Preparing for any competition is tough. This combined with the pressure to be in the zone and competing with the best requires rigorous and systematic preparation. Needless to say, the questions looming large in the minds of the students ranged from the nature of the competition to the syllabus. The teachers grooming the students for the math challenge were ready with a quick counter, “Your syllabus is from minus infinity to plus infinity, and the probability of you all performing well is directly proportional to the hard work you all do.” That said, these fresh-faced, bright-eyed youngsters, were ready for the ultimate face-off.

The Invitational World Youth Mathematics Inter City Competition attracts some of the best young mathematicians from all over the globe. A total of 17 countries and 68 teams participated.

In the zone
The rigour of competition did not come as a surprise to our students. The competition gave the students an opportunity to test their skills with the best in the business. The questions were tricky and required a sound understanding of math concepts and algorithms.

Most of the winners were from the south eastern countries like Singapore, Philippines and China as schools from this region focused on mathematics. But the SBA team left a lasting impression in the competition.

Math and much more
Apart from the math side of the competition, there were many other enriching and unforgettable experiences. One of them was the cultural night where all 17 countries had to put up a show, and SBA, the sole representative from India, put up the inspirational Vande Mataram dance, composed and sung by A.R Rahman. The heart thumping music and energetic dance won them the best performance award for the cultural night.

Amidst the euphoric “India, India” chants, were the elated SBA students soaking in the glory. SBA won a trophy for the most popular team on the final day, and certificates for the most co-operative team. As for icing, they also won the perfect gentlemen award, an honour bestowed on them by participating teams. As they say, (primus inter pares) the best among equals.