Nguyen Dang Khanh is a grade 10G0 student at Newton Middle and High School in Ha Noi. According to an announcement from the Ministry of Education and Training on 19/1, the student won a second prize in the national excellent student competition for mathematics, scoring 27 out of 40 points.
With this result, Khanh is one of two grade 10 students - the youngest - to make it into the top 48 candidates called for selection to the Vietnam team for the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO).
"I am very happy with the result, just as I had predicted", the student from Nghe An shared.
The national excellent student competition is typically for grade 12 students. This year, nearly 680 candidates participated in the mathematics competition, which consisted of 7 problems spread over two days. Khanh assessed the problems as manageable; after evaluating their difficulty, he chose to tackle those within his strengths first. If an idea did not immediately come to mind, he temporarily skipped it to move on to another problem. The student expressed regret about not completing part b of problem 6, which involved polynomials.
"This type of problem was not too difficult, but due to psychological pressure, I could not finish it completely", Khanh stated.
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Nguyen Dang Khanh, a grade 10 G0 student at Newton Middle and High School, Ha Noi. Photo: Provided by interviewee |
The student does not recall the exact moment he developed a passion for mathematics, but he has been interested in numbers since childhood, guided by his father.
"My father often shared with me about science subjects, especially math", Khanh recounted. "Our discussions happened naturally, like two friends sharing a common interest".
During elementary school, Khanh participated in many math competitions. In grade 6, his enthusiasm for the subject became more evident. He earned a silver medal, then a gold, at the X-IMC international young mathematicians competition, and a second prize in the Ha Noi city-level excellent student competition for mathematics.
Following the Newton inter-level school's curriculum, Khanh began experiencing high school-level math competitions while still in middle school. He won a silver medal in the Coastal and Northern Delta competition for grade 10 students in grade 8, and then a gold medal in the same competition for grade 11 students a year later.
"Mathematics opens up a fascinating world for me, helping me develop logical thinking, problem-solving skills, and providing opportunities to learn from new friends", Khanh shared.
At the beginning of grade 10, Khanh secured a silver medal in the Student-Student Olympiad, leading the Vietnam National University, Ha Noi's Olympiad competition. This also marked the time when the student set his goal to join the national excellent student team.
Khanh dedicated time to studying advanced topics, approaching new content to keep pace with the older students on the team. He considers combinatorics his strength, having been familiar with it since elementary school, but struggles with geometry due to its distinct approach and way of thinking.
"I often thoroughly read theory and 'grind' through exercises to improve my application skills", Khanh explained. "With enough exposure, one gradually grasps the essence of each problem type".
Each day, Khanh spends more time studying mathematics, focusing on problem types that interest him. Occasionally, he plays table tennis, games, reads comics, or watches movies to relax.
However, Khanh admitted that the demanding team practice schedule often left him feeling exhausted.
"Some days, I came home completely worn out, sometimes not wanting to continue because of the intense pressure", Khanh shared. Thanks to encouragement from his family, teachers, and friends, he regained his spirit to continue pursuing his goal.
For Khanh, mathematics is a highly abstract subject, requiring certain aptitudes from learners. Nevertheless, he believes that perseverance and effort are the most crucial factors.
"Even with aptitude, it is difficult to go far in mathematics without dedicating enough time to delve deep", the student commented.
According to Nguyen Ngoc Mai, his grade 10G0 homeroom teacher, Khanh is a humorous, friendly, and highly responsible student. Regarding academics, Mai described the student as having "extraordinary learning ability".
"Khanh is a 'special phenomenon' in the school's history and a source of motivation for his classmates", the teacher said.
The student stated he would try his best in the selection round for the International Mathematical Olympiad team. In more than one-half century of participating in this competition, Vietnam has only had two candidates compete at age 15.
"This is a difficult competition round, especially for a student who is only in grade 10, but I will try my hardest and hope to achieve the best I can", Khanh said.
Huyen Trang
