Six young Bangladeshi mathematicians will participate in the 56th International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO), to be held in Thailand's Chiang Mai on Thursday and Friday.

Asif E Elahi from Sylhet MC College, Adib Hasan and Md Sanzeed Anwar from Mymensingh Anando Mohan College, Sazid Akhter Turzo from Sirajganj Government College, Md Sabbir Rahman from Notre Dame College and SM Nayeemul Isalm from Barisal Zila School are expected to leave for the prestigious competition today.

A total of 582 participants from 114 countries will compete in the 56th IMO, which started in 1959 in Romania with only seven countries, said Prof Jamilur Reza Choudhury, chairman of Bangladesh Mathematical Olympiad Committee, while introducing the contestants to journalists at a briefing organised by the committee at the capital's Pan Pacific Hotel Sonargaon yesterday.

The selection process started in last December through Dutch-Bangla-Prothom Alo Mathematics Festival-2015, in which 30,000 pre-university students took part and from them 1,281 were selected for the 13th Bangladesh Mathematical Olympiad and National Math festival 2015.

The 11th Bangladesh National Mathematics Camp was held with the best 35 performers in junior, secondary and higher secondary categories and based on criteria of IMO and Asia Pacific Mathematical Olympiad (APMO) the six have been chosen.

Each contestant will be given three mathematical problems on the first day to be solved within 4.5 hours and another three on the second day to be solved within the same duration, said Prof Choudhury.

Md Sayedul Hasan, deputy managing director of Dutch Bangla Bank; Abdul Quayum, associate editor of the daily Prothom Alo, Prof Munibur Rahman, Prof Anwar Hossain and mathematician Prof Khodadad Khan were present at the briefing.

Bangladesh has been participating in IMO since 2005 and won two silver, 10 bronze and 20 honourable mentions so far.