5 Indian students win gold medals at International Physics Olympiad

• India topped the medal table at the 56th International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) 2026, with all five members of its contingent winning gold medals.

• The competition was held in Bucaramanga, Colombia, from July 4 to 12.

• In the country-wise medals tally, India was placed at the first position, jointly with China, Kazakhstan, Russia, South Korea, and Taiwan.

• The competition had a total of 381 contestants from 87 countries.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the team.

• This was India’s 27th appearance at the IPhO. 

• In all these years, nearly 44 per cent Indian students have won gold medals, another 41 per cent silver, 10 per cent bronze, and 5 per cent honourable mentions. 

• The achievement reflects the strength of India’s Olympiad programme, spearheaded by the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE), a National Centre of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), an aided institution under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE). 

• As the nodal centre for the Olympiad programme in India, HBCSE serves as the country’s link to the international Olympiad community and is dedicated to identifying, nurturing and mentoring exceptional talent in science and mathematics among pre-university students through a rigorous multi-stage selection process, orientation camps and intensive training programmes.