India won four gold medals and one silver medal at the 19th International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA) 2026. The competition was held in Hanoi, Vietnam, from 25 September to 5 October 2026, and all five members of the Indian team won medals.
International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics
The International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics is a global school-level competition in astronomy and astrophysics. It is one of the senior science Olympiads in which students solve theoretical, observational, and data-analysis problems.
Indian Medal Winners
- Pranjal Dixit from Hyderabad won a gold medal for India.
- Sumant Gupta from Delhi won a gold medal for India.
- Akshat Srivastava from Gurugram won a gold medal for India.
- Arnav Sehrawat from Faridabad won a gold medal for India.
- Harshil Amitkumar Patel from Vadodara won a silver medal for India.
Participation and Team Composition
The 19th IOAA had 307 students from 64 countries, making it the largest edition of the event so far. The Indian team was accompanied by Prof Bhaswati Mookerjea of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, and Prof Sanved Kolekar of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru.
Important Facts for Exams
- The IOAA is an annual international competition for secondary school students in astronomy and astrophysics.
- India finished jointly in third place in the medal tally with Vietnam at the 2026 edition.
- Iran and South Korea each won five gold medals at the 19th IOAA.
- In 2026, all 24 Indian participants across five senior-level science Olympiads won gold or silver medals.
India in Science Olympiads
India’s 2026 science Olympiad performance covered Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Astronomy. The five senior-level Olympiads together included 24 Indian participants, and every participant won either a gold or silver medal.
