**Executive Summary**
India achieved its best-ever performance at the 58th International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) 2026, held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, from July 10 to July 19, 2026. All four participating Indian students secured gold medals, placing India at the top of the country-wise medals tally. The report highlights the competition's academic rigor and the collaborative effort of national educational and governmental bodies in preparing the delegation.
**Key Points / Main Content**
**Performance and Rankings**
* India secured the first-ever "all-gold haul" in its 27-year history of participating in the IChO.
* The Indian team tied for first place in the medal tally alongside China, Vietnam, and Individual Participants Group B (Russia).
* The 58th IChO was the largest to date, featuring 363 students representing 93 different countries.
**The Student Delegation**
* Debadatta Priyadarshi (Bhubaneshwar, Odisha) – Gold Medalist.
* Harshit Singla (Mandi Gobindgarh, Punjab) – Gold Medalist.
* Kabeer Chillar (Delhi) – Gold Medalist.
* Sandeep Kuchi (Hyderabad, Telangana) – Gold Medalist.
**Competition Framework**
* **Theoretical Exam:** Comprised nine problems involving complex topics such as kinetics of oscillatory BZ reactions, Porous Framework Materials (COFs), Uranium mass estimation from historic detonations, and nitrogen fixation.
* **Experimental Exam:** Consisted of three tasks including the synthesis and analysis of metal complexes, identification of biochemical mixtures using enzymes, and pH-metric titrations.
**Historical Context and Support**
* In 27 appearances, 32% of Indian participants have won gold, 51% silver, and 17% bronze.
* Performance has improved recently, with gold and silver medal percentages rising to 43% and 53%, respectively, over the last ten appearances.
* The team was supported by the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE) and funded by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Department of Science and Technology (DST), and the Ministry of Education (MoE).
**Impact Analysis**
**Participating Students**
**Impact:**
Achieved international recognition and the highest individual honors in the field of chemistry.
**Action Required:**
No specific action required; recognized for their exceptional academic performance and representation of the country.
**Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE)**
**Impact:**
The institution's Chemistry Olympiad cell and resource pool are credited for the successful preparation of the team through orientation and pre-departure camps.
**Action Required:**
Maintain the resource pool of mentors and teachers to continue the rigorous preparation of future Indian delegations.
**Government Funding Agencies (DAE, DST, and MoE)**
**Impact:**
Their continued financial and institutional support is validated by India's top-tier ranking and historical performance improvements.
**Action Required:**
Provide continued strong support for the Olympiad programme to ensure Indian talent remains competitive on the international stage.
Key Entities Referenced
International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO): An annual international competition for chemistry students; the 58th edition in 2026 saw India achieve its best performance with a first-ever all-gold haul.
Department of Atomic Energy (DAE): The primary government department overseeing the announcement and a key funding agency for India's Olympiad programme.
Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE): The nodal institution responsible for the Chemistry Olympiad cell, training, and orientation of the Indian delegation.
National Steering Committee on Science Olympiads: The governing body providing institutional support and oversight for science olympiad initiatives in India.
Department of Atomic Energy
All 4 students from Team India won Gold Medals
at the 58th International Chemistry Olympiad,
Tashkent, Uzbekistan
प्रव तथ: 19 JUL 2026 1:35PM by PIB Mumbai
Mumbai, 19th July 2026
India performed exceptionally well at the 58th International Chemistry Olympiad
(IChO) 2026 held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan from 10 to 19 July 2026, with all four
students bagging gold medals!
The students were:
Debadatta Priyadarshi (GOLD) from Bhubaneshwar, Odisha
Harshit Singla (GOLD) from Mandi Gobindgarh, Punjab
Kabeer Chillar (GOLD) from Delhi
Sandeep Kuchi GOLD) from Hyderabad, Telangana
There were four Jury Members from India: Prof. Subhajit Bandyopadhyay as Head
Mentor, Dr. Indrani Sen (HBCSE, Mumbai) as Mentor, Dr. Anubendu Adhikary (IIT
Kharagpur) and Dr. Jayasree Gopalakrishnan (NES Ratnam College of Arts, Science
and Commerce, Mumbai) as Scientific Observers.
In the country-wise medals tally, India was placed at the first position, jointly with
China, Vietnam, and Individual Participants Group B (from Russia). This year's IChO
had 363 students from 93 countries, making it the biggest IChO till date. This is
India's best performance in IChO with the first-ever all-gold haul!
The competition had both experimental and theoretical components.
The theoretical exam had 9 problems on identifying composition of a blue solution
made from plant extracts and a yellow stone from a coal deposit (apparently also
found in Avicenna's lab); kinetics of oscillatory BZ reaction; making porous
framework materials (called COFs) using different functionalized organic
compounds; estimating the mass of Uranium used in historic 1966 detonation to put
off the natural gas fire in Urtabulak (after a blaze of 3 years); decoding structure of
a chiral cardiolipin (a kind of phosphoester, part of intracellular membranes) having
four identical fatty acid residues; using novel carbon allotropes —cyclocarbons— to
form nanosized molecular belt by stabilizing it with a macrocyclic metal complex;
nitrogen fixation in ammonia production plants using transition metal catalysts;
catalytic reduction of atmospheric CO2 along with use of photosensitizers for
enhanced efficiency; and reactions of synthetic analogues of cyclodextrins, testing
students on stereochemical and regio-specific transformations.The experimental exam consisted of 3 problems involving (i) synthesis of a metal
complex using given (unknown reagents) and analysis of its composition by
qualitative analysis and complexometric titration; (ii) identifying 20 given mixtures
of biochemicals (such as glucose, urea, uric acid, cholestrol's ester and a oil) by
using given 5 enzyme mixtures through microscale tests; and (iii) identifying
compositions of 3 acid mixtures through pH-metric titrations followed by analysis of
two indicator solutions (one natural indicator from red cabbage and another mixture
of two indicators) through pH-metry.
We congratulate the students and the rest of the delegation for their excellent
performance! The Chemistry Olympiad cell of HBCSE and the resource pool of
external teachers and mentors deserve appreciation for preparing the team well
during the orientation and pre-departure camps held at HBCSE.
This was the 27th appearance of India at the IChO. In all these years, 32% of our
students have got gold medals, 51% silver, and 17% bronze. In the last ten
appearances, the percentages of gold and silver medals have been 43% and 53%,
respectively.
We thank the National Steering Committee on Science Olympiads, teacher
organisations and the funding agencies of the Govt. of India (DAE, DST and MoE)
for their continued strong support of the Olympiad programme which enables us to
showcase Indian talent on the international arena.
***
Harshal Akude/Parshuram Kor
Follow us on social media: @PIBMumbai /PIBMumbai /pibmumbai pibmumbai[at]gmail[dot]com /PI
BMumbai /pibmumbai
(रलीज़ आईडी: 2286278) आगंतुक पटल : 1006
इस वज्ञ को इन भाषाओ ंम पढ़: Urdu , ही , Marathi , Tamil