Gourishankar R. 8th September, 2020
Neelakanta Bhanu Prakash (Source: Twitter)
Neekalanta Bhanu Prakash (age 21) has been declared as the fastest human calculator in the world. Prakash won gold in the Mental Calculation World Championship at the Mind Sports Olympiad (MSO), held at London, according to ANI.
Prakash is pursuing an honours degree at Delhi University’s St Stephen College. He is from Hyderabad. He holds a world record and 50 positions in the Limca Book of Records for being the fastest human calculator in the world, according to local media outlets.
The young winner told Times of India that he holds world records and 50 Limca records for being the fastest human calculator in the world. He added that he believes that his achievements are a matter of national pride, seeing as the records were once held by the likes of Scott Flensberg and Shakuntala Devi. He believes that he has done his fair share to elevate India on the global platform in the world of mathematics.
MSO London was conducted through a virtual medium on the 15th of August and is regarded as the most prestigious international competition for talented individuals to display their problem-solving acumen. The gold Prakash won was the first-ever for India, according to Times Now.
Competition for Prakash came from 13 countries such as the UK, France, and Greece. Around 30 participants were in attendance, ranging up to 57 years of age. The runner up was a Lebanese participant as reported by First Post.
Indian social media hopped on the opportunity to congratulate the young champion and shower him with praise for his accomplishment. The social media users regarded his victory as a proud moment for the country.
Twitter user @AdvNitinMehta wished him best of luck for the future: “Congratulations to Neelakantha Bhanu Prakash, who won the world’s fastest human calculator title and clinched gold first time for India in the Mental Calculation World Championship at Mind Sports Olympiad in London. It's a great achievement. Wish him success in all future endeavours”.
(Sources: Times of India, ANI, Times Now, First Post)
Edited by Varun Vyas Hebbalalu