India has scripted history at the 56th International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) 2026, as five of them won gold in one of the world’s top science competitions for school students. The achievement has been praised by PM Narendra Modi for the students’ achievements and for the future capabilities of our young people that can be created.
In X, Prime Minister Modi described their performance as “outstanding” and praised Kanishk Jain, Riddhesh Anant Bendale, Rishit Garg, Shresth Suraiya and Svarit Joshi for their outstanding performance in Bucaramanga, Colombia. He said their achievement is an outstanding proof of India’s Yuva Shakti’s talent in this area and India's Yuva Shakti is an outstanding achievement in the past decade of Indian students at international science competitions globally.
The 56th edition of the International Physics Olympiad took place in Bucaramanga, Colombia, where 381 of the world’s brightest young physicists from 87 countries participated in the event. India achieved one of the tournament’s biggest victory stories, with every member of the five-member team winning a gold medal. It also made India the joint world No. 1 country together with China, Kazakhstan, Russia, South Korea and Taiwan.
The five gold medallists are:
Kanishk Jain (Pune, Maharashtra)
Riddhesh Anant Bendale (Indore, Madhya Pradesh). Rishit Garg (Dwarka, New Delhi). Shresth Suraiya (Mumbai, Maharashtra). Svarit Joshi (Ahmedabad, Gujarat)
The performance is consistent with India’s record in the International Physics Olympiad. Every Indian member of the team has returned in the last decade with a gold or silver medal, and so we are getting better and better at international science competitions.
This performance is the result of years of rigorous preparation from the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE), which is a National Centre of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR). A rigorous selection process is followed by intensive training camps which prepare India’s brightest school students for global Olympiads in physics, mathematics, chemistry, biology and astronomy.
The Indian contingent was led by team leaders Prof. Anwesh Mazumdar of HBCSE-TIFR and Dr. Leena Joshi of St. Xavier's College, Mumbai. In addition, scientific observers Prof. Ananda Dasgupta of IISER Kolkata and Nisha Kelkar were also involved in helping the team. This and years of systematic training and hard work have made India one of the world's best performers in science Olympiads in terms of talent.
The achievement has been widely celebrated across the country, with teachers and scientists alike calling it yet another achievement for India's scientific ecosystem. It also underscores the growing focus on developing young talent through dedicated training programs which promote innovation, analytical thinking and problem solving at an early age.
For India, the success in Colombia is about much more than five gold medals. This is a testament that India’s young minds can compete with—and match—the best in the world. The performance is a sign of the unlimited potential of India’s youth and the inspiration of thousands of aspiring scientists throughout the country, Modi said.
