Mangaluru: For Prathyush P Poduval, the second PU examination and CET are the low-hanging fruits. Having set his sight on gaining admission to the prestigious IISc, Prathyush focused on the challenging Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana (KVPY), success in which guaranteed him an automatic entry in this premier institute of pure sciences in Bengaluru. It is this same confidence that has seen Prathyush get selected to represent India at the International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA).

A student of Canara PU College, Prathyush, the elder child of Prasanth P Poduval and Sunitha Poduval, is among five Indian students who will represent the country at IOAA-2018 that will be held in Beijing later in November.

He is the only student from South India in the Indian team, who will participate in this international olympiad. More than 200 students from around 45 countries will vie for top honours at this international annual meet.

Having honed his skills and passion for mathematics and science at the Centre for Advanced Learning, Prathyush told reporters on Wednesday that his selection was part of a three-stage process that started with the National Standard Examination that took place in November last year, culminating with an orientation-cum-selection camp held at Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education in May/April, with the Indian National Olympiad sandwiched between these two stages in January.

Averring that the plus two exam is easy for someone deep into KVPY, Prasanth says Prathyush was never bothered about his plus two score nor the CET. “He was focused on getting into IISc through the KVPY route, and CFAL has helped him get there,” he said.

Supplementing his father’s thoughts, Prathyush says, “The PU examination is more about rote learning unlike KVPY, which really gets one to know the subject well, and emphasizes on analytical and problem-solving skills.”

Pointing out that representing India at an event such as IOAA is a matter of pride, Prathyush said while his selection to the Indian team was the icing on the cake, he did learn a lot at the orientation-cum-selection camp, which saw around 50 students get selected, and this list was finally trimmed to five. Prathyush incidentally has also been selected for the Ross Math Camp offered by Ohio State University from June 11 to July 22, which is a fully sponsored trip by the university.