Anshul Kumar Rai at DPS in Bokaro on Tuesday. Picture by Pankaj Singh

Bokaro, March 8: Sir Isaac Newton may have proved that every action has an equal and opposite reaction, but Bokaro boy Anshul Kumar Rai can vouch that his every act of dedication has had an equal reaction in the same direction.

The diligent Class XII student of DPS is the only candidate from the state and among five from the country to qualify for the 12th Asian Physics Olympiad, scheduled in Tel Aviv, Israel, from May 1 to 9.

As many as 20 Asian nations, including India, Indonesia, Malaysia, China and Japan, are participating in this prestigious event. Besides, 17-year-old Anshul, the other Indian contenders for the Olympiad are Kolkata’s Deeptaraka Hait, Mumbai’s Smarak Moily, Rajkot’s Ritesh Bhalotia and Jaipur’s Astha Agrawal.

The fabulous five were selected on the basis of their performance in the National Standard Examination in Physics. More than 50,000 students from several hundred schools across the country took the talent test in December 2010. Only 300 qualified. They were sieved again at the Indian National Physics Olympiad, conducted by the Indian Association of Physics Teachers, to handpick the five.

Speaking to The Telegraph on campus this afternoon, Anshul said he would go to Delhi on April 22 for an intensive training camp with the other students. The five will fly to Tel Aviv on April 30. Before his Israel trip, Anshul will also represent the country at the International Physics Olympiad to be held in Delhi from March 16.

Son of a Bokaro Steel engineer, the teenager notched a glorious 97.6 per cent in his Class X board exams in 2009. He is currently appearing for his CBSE plus two tests. “I also hope to crack IIT-JEE and take up electronics or computer science as my subject at Kanpur or Kharagpur,” he said.

Honorary adviser of DPS Hemlata S. Mohan has extended her best wishes to Anshul.