Nguyen Manh Quan at his home in Hanoi. Photo by VnExpress/Thanh Hang.

A Hanoi 12th grader has become the first Vietnamese to achieve the highest score at Asian Physics Olympiad.

Vietnam sent a team of eight students to the 21st Asian Physics Olympiad (APhO), with six scooping medals.

Nguyen Manh Quan and Tran Quang Vinh, both 12th graders from Hanoi - Amsterdam High School for the Gifted, pocketed golds.

Quan scored the highest among all contestants, becoming the first Vietnamese student to achieve such a feat at an APhO event.

Among the remaining contestants, 12th grader Bui Thanh Tan from Phan Boi Chau Gifted Senior High School in central Nghe An Province brought home the silver while the other three, Nguyen Trong Thuan, 12th grader at Lam Son High School for the Gifted in central Thanh Hoa Province, Le Minh Hoang, 11th grader at the High School for Gifted Students, Hanoi University of Science (HUS), Vietnam National University, and Nguyen Hoang Nam, also a 12th grader from Hanoi – Amsterdam, earned bronze.

Trang Dao Cong Minh, 12th grader from the HUS High School for Gifted Students and Nguyen Dac Tien, 12th grader at Bac Ninh High School for the Gifted, received the certificates of merit.

The eight Vietnamese students that join the 21st Asian Physics Olympiad.
Photo by Ministry of Education and Traning.

Hosted by Taiwan, the 2021 APhO was originally scheduled to be held last year but due to Covid-19, it was postponed to this year and eventually took place online.

The event attracted 181 students from 23 countries and territories.

In Vietnam, it was held online at the Hanoi National University of Education from May 16 to 24, during which contestants must complete theory and practical examinations.

Last year, Quan snatched the gold medal and also scored the highest at the International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics aside from getting another gold at the European Physics Olympiad.

Last March, he won a college scholarship of $260,000 to study at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.