LAHORE: The four Pakistani students who won bronze medals at the 37th International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI) in Bolivia have proved that hard work and dedication always yield results.
Muhammad Aneeq, Ahmad Imran Malik, Muhammad Saram, and Ghulam Junaid, belonging to SundarSTEM School, secured medals at the prestigious competition held from July 27 to Aug 3 in Sucre.
Muhammad Saram from Lahore revealed his rigorous preparation routine: “I simulated the actual competition environment by doing numerous 5-hour virtual contests on platforms like Codeforces and AtCoder. The key was building stamina to perform under pressure.”
His strategy paid off, though not without challenges.
“During the actual competition, I found myself debugging code with time running out -- it was stressful but overcoming that moment made the victory sweeter,” Saram recalled.
Ghulam Junaid, who hails from a small village near Narowal, took a more quantitative approach. “I solved over 2,600 problems on Codeforces alone,” he shared. “Each ‘Accepted’ verdict after struggling with a problem gave me the motivation to keep going.” Junaid particularly enjoyed the camaraderie at the event, saying “playing games with other competitors was as memorable as the competition itself.”
For Ahmad Imran Malik from Azad Kashmir, the journey included a valuable lesson in resilience.
“I failed in my first attempt at the Pakistan Olympiad in Informatics,” he admitted. “But that setback made me more determined. I started practicing 10 hours daily, using every resource available.” Malik credited much of his mental strength to a book titled ‘You Might Break -- And That’s Okay’, which taught him how to handle pressure during competitions.
Muhammad Aneeq from Burewala described the experience of competing on the global stage as: “Standing there among the world’s best young programmers, I had to pinch myself - it felt like living a dream”. Aneeq’s most triumphant moment came when he scored an unexpected 72 points on a challenging task. “When I saw the results, I realised all those late-night practice sessions were worth it.”
The students’ success was made possible through mentorship at SundarSTEM School. They were trained by an elite panel including Oxford professor Dr Amir Goharshady, IOI gold medalist Abdul Malik Nurrokhman, and Iranian Olympiad champion Shayan Chashm Jahan.
The rigorous selection process conducted by the Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education saw 528 candidates from across Pakistan competing for the four national team spots.
Published in Dawn, August 15th, 2025
