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| Himanshu Asnani (second from left) |
Young achiever
Nisha Prabhakaran, Powai
In an era when the youth are looking at emulating their successful countrymen like A P J Abdul Kalam, Narayan and Sudha Murthy, the achievements of Himanshu Asnani and P Arun from IIT Powai have made their efforts all the more significant. They won the bronze and the silver medals at the International Chemistry Olympiad that was held in Taipei (Taiwan) recently.
A student of electrical engineering, it was probably fate that intervened to change Himanshu’s destiny.Hailing from Kota in Rajasthan, he states, “My father is a homoeopathic physician and my mother is a house wife. While I was interested in medicine earlier, it was sudden impulse that turned me to engineering after I came across a good local physics and mathematics teacher.”
All that seems to have paid off, for Himanshu has not only won glory for himself but for the country at an international platform. He believes that the full two-year classroom coaching in Kota for IIT-JEE stood him in good stead for the competition. And the contest was definitely tough with about 30,000 participants from over 59 countries competing in the event.
“The selection procedure was a long one with two rounds to select the top 50 or so from nearly 30,000 participants. The four of us went through a 15-day training camp which stressed mostly on the practical components,” recalls Himanshu.
The olympiad involves one theoretical and another practical component. Both have their own weightage and the overall score decides the results.
And it was not just academics that these young men were busy with. “We made friends and enjoyed being part of a lot of scientific excursions. Moreover, we got to know their strategies, curriculum,” explains Himanshu.
“Academically and morally the entire credit for my performance goes to Professor Savita Ladage and our mentors Professors S R Gadre, Lakshmi Ravishankar, Swapna Narvekar and above all Prof Arvind Singh and Prof Vijay Singh. Himanshu confesses that a minor mistake during the practical round could have cost him a silver medal. “Scoring one more point could have changed my bronze to silver as I was on the border line but I am
content that I was for able
to win a medal for my country,” he avers.
Finally, he has few words for his fellow students everywhere. “Making it to the team is not the prerogative. It is always a wonderful experience to interact with
the brightest of students from all over India,” he quips.
In a country that needs heroes to constantly boost the morale, here is a new icon.
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