Ahmedabad: Sharad Mirani, a 14-year-old from Ahmedabad has won the maiden bronze medal in the global scientific competition, International Earth Science Olympiads (IESO) in Taiwan. Sharad was part of the four-member team representing India at IESO, an annual competition for secondary school students.

The IESO 2009, which was organized from September 14 to September 22 on the theme of environment, tested the ability of students in disciplines like geology, meteorology, environmental science and terrestrial astronomy. After winning the award, Sharad said, "It was a great experience for me competing with participants from across the globe. We went through different theoretical and practical tests on the knowledge of rocks, field investigation among other activities."

Sharad also won a special award for his best presentation at the event. He had been selected for the global science competition after he excelled at the national standard examination in junior science and finished among the top 300 students at the second stage of the competition. Sharad then appeared at the Indian National Science Olympiads in January 2009 and was selected as one of the top 32 students of the country. After rigorous training and evaluation, Sharad finally made it to the four-member Indian team to participate in the IESO 2009.

"This turned out to be a dream journey. I had prepared hard to improve my theoretical knowledge and practical experience in the earth science. It became possible only with the blessings of Lord Swaminarayan and the support and encouragement by the teachers at the Prakash school and Prof. Paras Solanki of MG Science College," Sarad told DNA.

Around 18 countries including Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Nepal, Nigeria, Philippines, Singapore, Sir Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, UK, U.S. and three observing teams from Argentina, France, and Ukraine participated in the competition.

According to his father Chandrakant Mirani, Sharad aspires to be an astrophysicist. A class X student of Prakash Higher Secondary School, Sharad also carried a Basalt rock from Gujarat to Taiwan which will soon be a part of the monument to be constructed, remembering the global competition.

Senior scientist at Gujarat Science City, Narottam Sahoo who also guided Sharad with a comprehensive approach of IESO said, "Sharad is the first student in the state to achieve such prestigious honor and recognition at the International Science Olympiads. His award will inspire and encourage those who are preparing for the next IESO 2010 to be held in Indonesia."

Also an achiever in sports, Sharad has so far won 30 medals at the state level and two at national level in roller skating.