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Saudi student wins silver at international astrophysics Olympiad in Mumbai
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NEW DELHI: A Saudi Arabian student won a silver medal at the International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics, which concluded in India’s Mumbai on Thursday.
The IOAA is an annual competition held to recognize talented high-school students from around the world in astronomy and astrophysics through a series of theoretical, practical and experimental tests.
The event was organized this year by the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education — a national center of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research — and took place in Mumbai from Aug. 11-21.
A five-member team represented Saudi Arabia at the event, which featured more than 300 students from 64 countries.
“This year's competition was extremely challenging. The exams were long, difficult, and required a high level of intuition and time management. Teams were exceptionally well prepared, making the event even more competitive,” Talal Al-Dawood, supervisor of the astronomy and space program at Mawhiba — the King Abdulaziz and His Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity — told Arab News after the closing ceremony on Thursday.
“Despite this, our students performed remarkably well. We are incredibly proud to have won our first silver medal, along with two honorable mentions.”
Saudi student Jude Basem Al-Lahyani was awarded the silver, following her bronze medal at the Kingdom’s IOAA debut at the 2024 edition in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Her teammates Hussain Hasan Al-Mubarak and Fajr Al-Obaidan obtained honorable mentions this year.
“They were incredibly happy to see the fruits of their hard work and dedication, as the countless hours they spent studying and preparing finally paid off,” Al-Dawood said.
The IOAA was launched in 2007 in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Students competing at the IOAA are required to be younger than 20 years old and must tackle three papers across 10 days spanning theory, data analysis and observations.
The Saudi team was trained by Mawhiba — a non-profit endowment dedicated to nurturing young talent in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics — with support from the Ministry of Education, the Saudi Space Agency, and NEO Space Group.
Al-Dawood said the students were chosen following “highly competitive and rigorous qualification stages” that lasted almost a year, and added: “This year’s achievement will definitely inspire the next generation of the Saudi team.”
Saudi Arabia’s national team at the International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics pose for a group photo after the event's closing ceremony on Aug. 21, 2025. (Mawhib)