India has secured a top finish at the 56th International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) 2026 held in Colombia, with all five members of the national team winning gold medals. Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the students for the achievement.
Olympiad examinations are conducted to strengthen school and college students’ abilities in science, mathematics and languages, and to prepare them for international competition. The tests are designed to encourage analytical thinking, knowledge and a competitive spirit.
Olympiads are held in subjects including physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics and astronomy. In India, national and international Olympiad activities are conducted by the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE), under the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai.
This year, five students who emerged successful at the national-level physics Olympiad represented India at IPhO in Colombia. The event saw 381 students from 87 countries participate.
The Indian gold medallists were Kanishk Jain (Pune), Shreshth Suraiya (Mumbai), Rithesh Anand Pentale (Indore), Rishit Garg (Dwarka, Delhi) and Swarith Joshi (Ahmedabad). With this result, India shared the world’s top rank on the IPhO standings alongside Russia, China, Kazakhstan, South Korea and Taiwan.
