India has steadily strengthened its standing in International STEM Olympiads over the past two decades with some of the brightest young mathematicians, physicists and programmers bringing back medals. But where do these medal winners go after the podium finish? A businessline analysis of the Indian Olympiad winners between 2011 and 2021 shows that some start their academic journey abroad and continue staying there and others may start at IITs but go on to global universities for research or make a career in big tech majors. Physics has been India’s strongest suits with proportion of gold medal winners steady at over 40 per cent across 2000-24. Maths shows turnaround with the share of gold medals jumping from 5 per cent in the 2000s to 35 per cent in the 2020s.Published on July 22, 2026