iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-
India secured the third rank in the medal tally at the 15th International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA). India held the third position jointly with Singapore with Indian students winning three gold and two silver medals.
One of the gold medal winners, Raghav Goyal, also won a special prize for providing the best solution to the most challenging theoretical question.
The 15th International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA) 2022 was held in Kutaisi, Georgia, from 14 to 21 August 2022.
The team was accompanied by two leaders – Professor Sarita Vig of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram, Professor Ajit Mohan Srivastava of the Institute of Physics, Bhubaneswar, and two Scientific Observers – Dr. Shriharsh Tendulkar of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai and Tejas Shah of Fr. Agnel Multipurpose School & Jr. College, Navi Mumbai. Dr. Tendulkar was himself a gold medallist at the International Astronomy Olympiad in 2002 and 2003 and an overall topper in 2003.
“There were 209 students from 37 main and 6 guest teams participating in this year’s IOAA. In addition, 24 students from 6 countries participated in the online mode. This year’s competition was originally scheduled to be held in Kyiv, Ukraine. It was shifted to Kutaisi, Georgia in March 2022 due to the war in Ukraine,” said the Department of Atomic Energy, in a statement issued on Monday, August 22.
In the medals tally, India was placed jointly in the third position along with Singapore, behind Iran’s team that won 5 golds and the guest team that bagged 4 golds and, 1 silver medal. In all, 28 gold, 38 silver, and 55 bronze medals were awarded at this IOAA.
