Colombia: India scripted history at the 56th International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) 2026 held in Bucaramanga, Colombia, with all five members of the national contingent securing gold medals. The historic clean sweep pushed India to the coveted joint World No. 1 position on the medals table, sharing the top spot alongside global powerhouses China, Russia, South Korea, Kazakhstan, and Taiwan. The tournament, which concluded on July 12, witnessed fierce competition from 381 elite high school students representing 87 countries across the globe.
The extraordinary feat drew widespread praise from across the country, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi leading the nation in celebrating the young achievers. In a celebratory message, the Prime Minister lauded the gold medal winners—Kanishk Jain from Pune, Riddhesh Anant Bendale from Indore, Rishit Garg from Delhi, Shresth Suraiya from Mumbai, and Svarit Joshi from Ahmedabad. The Prime Minister noted that their victory exemplifies the limitless potential of India’s youth and highlights the sustained excellence of Indian participants at international science platforms over the past decade. Delhi Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh also extended public congratulations to local student Rishit Garg, framing the clean sweep as an incredibly proud moment for both the national capital and the entire country.
Organized under the National Olympiad Programme by the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE) and the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), the rigorous training regimen successfully prepared the students to excel in both the intensive five-hour theoretical and experimental components of the competition. The challenging syllabus included complex university-level physics problems ranging from thermodynamics in fluids to light patterns. This victory marks only the second time in history that India has achieved a complete gold medal sweep at the IPhO, mirroring their landmark 2018 performance and cementing the nation’s rising status in global science education and research.
