Be it academics or sports, one can’t deny the fact that Indians are the best in terms of class, performance, hard work, smart work, grit and determination. We have all the ingredients to outsmart the opponent and that’s why Indians are recognised as the most talented ones in the world.
On 28 July, 5 Indian students from India wrote their success story as they bagged a gold medal each at the International Physics Olympiad. The five participants showcased their mettle and reaped rewards on that day. Also, this is the first time in 21 years that all five students from India have brought the gold home.
Pawan Goyal, Lay Jain, Siddharth Tiwari, Bhaskar Gupta & Nishant Abhangi thrived in Physics Olympiad battling it out with 396 of the brightest students from 86 countries across the Globe. It is indeed a proud moment for India.
“If you talk in terms of cricket, India’s strike rate in the International Physics Olympiad since 1998 has been 100 percent, where every student has won at least one medal — be it gold, silver, or bronze,” says a blissful Shirish Pathare, chief scientific officer at the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE), TIFR.
This international stage evaluates their scientific spirit based on 2 sets of examinations. One is ‘Theory’ and the other ‘Experimental’. It is learnt that theory was too tough for the Indian candidates but the experimental part required some tough training.
“A lab in school and in college or an institute will be same. But in school, there is more focus on marks, and there is no planning regarding how an experiment will be conducted. Meanwhile, in institutes, there is a paradigm shift. A lab experiment is conducted in a planned manner, the grading system is more objective,” says Pathare, who has been well connected with this programme since 1999.
