RI wins golds in Physics Olympiad
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Indonesian team won four of the 14 gold medals on offer in the sixth Asian Physics Olympiad (APHO) in Pekanbaru, Riau. The other gold medals went to Thailand with two medals, Taiwan with one and China with seven gold medals.
APHO President Yohanes Surya praised the team's performances, and added that physics was generally considered one of the toughest subjects in school and one that many students will do their utmost to avoid if they can.
"The performances by the Indonesian team were good because we won four gold medals out of our early target of two," Yohanes was quoted on Sunday by Antara news agency.
The four gold medals were won by Ali Sucipto, a student of SMA Xaverius high school in Palembang, Andika Putra Siwa, a student of SMA Soetomo 1 Medan, Purnawirman, a student of SMAN 1 Pekanbaru and Michael Adrian, a student of SMA Regina Pacis, Bogor.
Indonesian also won one silver courtesy of Yongki Utama, a student of SMA Dian Harapan in Tangerang.
Three Indonesian participants -- Ario Prabowo, a student of SMA Taruna Nusantara in Central Java town of Magelang; Thomas Alva Edison, a student of SMAN 3 Bandung; and Bambang Dwi Putra, a student from SMAN 1 Pekanbaru in Riau -- won bronze and the other bronze medals were won by students from Vietnam, Kazakhtan, Singapore and Taiwan.
The overall title in the competition was won by Chinese student Fang Li, while the best in the theory category was won by Lin Yi Hsun from Taiwan and best in experimentation went to Lin Han Hsuan from Taiwan.
The test subjects were prepared by a team comprised of scientists from local universities, the University of Indonesia, Gadjah Mada University and the Bandung Institute of Technology.
Minister of National Education Bambang Sudibyo said he hoped the Olympiad's winners would play a significant role in developing technology and science, especially in Asia.
The Olympiad, which was opened by Vice President Jusuf Kalla on April 26, had 118 participants from 18 countries.