India Achieves Historic Clean Sweep with Five Golds at International Physics Olympiad 2026

New Delhi: India delivered a stellar performance at the 56th International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) 2026 in Colombia, winning gold medals in all five individual events and finishing as joint world No. 1 alongside China, Kazakhstan, Russia, South Korea and Taiwan.

The outstanding performance came in a competition that featured 381 students from 87 countries, highlighting India's growing strength in international science competitions and academic excellence.

The Indian gold medallists are Kanishk Jain from Pune, Maharashtra; Riddhesh Anant Bendale from Indore, Madhya Pradesh; Rishit Garg from Dwarka, New Delhi; Shresth Suraiya from Mumbai, Maharashtra; and Svarit Joshi from Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

With this result, India has continued its remarkable consistency at the International Physics Olympiad, where every Indian participant over the past decade has returned home with a medal.

The achievement reflects the success of the Olympiad training programme conducted by the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE), a national centre of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE). As India's nodal agency for international science Olympiads, HBCSE identifies talented school students through a rigorous selection process before providing them with intensive academic training and mentoring.

Congratulating the team, Department of Atomic Energy Secretary and Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Ajit Kumar Mohanty described the accomplishment as a proud moment for the nation. He said the clean sweep of five gold medals and India's joint top ranking reflected not only the exceptional talent and hard work of the students but also the sustained efforts of the HBCSE-TIFR Olympiad programme.

He also praised the contribution of parents, teachers and mentors, expressing confidence that the success would encourage more young students to pursue scientific excellence and further strengthen India's position in science, research and innovation.

The Department of Atomic Energy also congratulated the team's leaders, Prof. Anwesh Mazumdar of HBCSE-TIFR and Dr. Leena Joshi of St. Xavier's College, Mumbai, as well as scientific observers Prof. Ananda Dasgupta of IISER Kolkata and Nisha Kelkar of Gogate-Joglekar College, Ratnagiri. The department also acknowledged the dedicated efforts of the Physics Olympiad mentor pool at HBCSE, whose guidance played a key role in preparing the students for one of the world's most prestigious science competitions.

With inputs from IANS