India achieved its best-ever performance at the 58th International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) 2026, with all four members of the national team winning gold medals at the competition held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, from July 10 to July 19, 2026. The achievement marked India’s first all-gold performance in the history of its participation at the International Chemistry Olympiad.According to the Ministry of Education, India also finished joint first in the country-wise medals tally along with China, Vietnam and the Individual Participants Group B (from Russia). The 2026 edition of the Olympiad was the largest so far, with 363 students representing 93 countries.Four Indian students win gold medalsThe four students who represented India and secured gold medals are:
The Indian delegation included Prof. Subhajit Bandyopadhyay as Head Mentor, Dr. Indrani Sen of Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE) as Mentor, and Dr. Anubendu Adhikary of IIT Kharagpur and Dr. Jayasree Gopalakrishnan of NES Ratnam College of Arts, Science and Commerce, Mumbai, as Scientific Observers.Largest edition of the OlympiadThe 58th International Chemistry Olympiad featured theoretical and experimental examinations designed to assess advanced understanding of chemistry.The theoretical examination consisted of nine problems covering topics such as reaction kinetics, porous framework materials, nitrogen fixation, catalytic reduction of atmospheric carbon dioxide, cyclocarbons, stereochemistry and phosphoesters. Students also solved questions involving analytical chemistry, materials science and industrial chemical processes.The experimental examination comprised three laboratory-based tasks, including the synthesis and analysis of a metal complex, identification of biochemical mixtures using enzyme-based tests, and analysis of acid mixtures through pH-metric titration techniques.India’s performance over the yearsThis was India’s 27th appearance at the International Chemistry Olympiad. According to the official data, Indian participants have secured gold medals in 32 per cent of all participations, silver medals in 51 per cent and bronze medals in 17 per cent since the country’s debut.Over India’s last 10 appearances at the Olympiad, the proportion of gold medals has increased to 43 per cent, while silver medals account for 53 per cent of the total medals won during the period.The Ministry of Education also acknowledged the contribution of the HBCSE Chemistry Olympiad Cell, external mentors, the National Steering Committee on Science Olympiads, teacher organisations and the funding support provided by the Department of Atomic Energy, the Department of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Education in preparing the Indian team.
