Prime Minister Narendra Modi felicitated the four students from India, who won gold medals at the 58th International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) 2026, which took place in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, between July 10 to 19 on Sunday. While congratulating them on their feat, which is the finest ever for the country at such an internationally renowned competition, the Prime Minister said that this would inspire many more people to excel in the science field.
Taking to X, PM Modi wrote that India's youth continue to make their mark globally, praising the brilliance, dedication, and passion for science shown by the gold medallists: Debadatta Priyadarshi, Harshit Singhal, Kabeer Chhillar, and Sandeep Kuchi. In a separate post, the Prime Minister also congratulated the Indian team competing at the 37th International Biology Olympiad (IBO) in Vilnius, Lithuania, which took place from 12 to 19 July. He felt enormous pleasure in knowing that all four members of the team—Bhavyaa Gunwal, Soumil Maity, Nishit Kalani, and Anmol Kumar—had won medals, out of which one was gold, displaying commendable knowledge in highly sophisticated fields like molecular biology, biochemistry, and computational plant biology.
The International Chemistry Olympiad, established in 1968, is the largest annual competition organised for high school students across the globe, bringing together the best talents to compete in tough theoretical and practical tests. This year's event was the largest to date, featuring 363 students from 93 countries. India secured the joint first position in the country-wise medals tally alongside China, Vietnam, and the Individual Participants Group B from Russia. The all-gold haul marks India's finest performance in its 27 appearances at the IChO, where historically 32 per cent of its students have won gold, 51 per cent silver, and 17 per cent bronze.
Meanwhile, the 37th International Biology Olympiad in Lithuania saw 307 students from 78 countries compete for a total of 31 gold, 61 silver, and 91 bronze medals. This marked India's 26th appearance at the IBO. The participants of the country have managed to make an excellent record, winning 17 gold medals, 69 silver, and 17 bronze medals among 104 students.
These accomplishments in academics are preceded by another impressive success that India gained at the 56th International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) 2026, held in Bucaramanga, Colombia. The entire Indian team of physicists, consisting of Kanishk Jain, Riddhesh Anant Bendale, Rishit Garg, Shresth Suraiya, and Svarit Joshi, won gold medals and placed the country among World Number 1 in company with China, Kazakhstan, Russia, South Korea, and Taiwan among 381 participants from 87 countries.
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