India delivered a strong performance at the 19th International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA) 2026 with all five members of the national team returning with medals. The team won four gold medals and one silver at the international competition held in Hanoi, Vietnam, from September 25 to October 5.
Gold medals were won by Pranjal Dixit of Hyderabad, Sumant Gupta of Delhi, Akshat Srivastava of Gurugram and Arnav Sehrawat of Faridabad. Harshil Amitkumar Patel of Vadodara won a silver medal.
India finished third jointly with Vietnam in the medal tally, behind Iran and South Korea, which won five gold medals each. The competition saw 307 students from 64 countries, making it the largest IOAA so far in terms of participation.
The IOAA comprises theory, observation and data analysis components, carrying 50%, 25% and 25% weightage respectively.
