The eight-day tournament has previously been held in China, Russia, Germany, Romania, Poland and Georgia, among other countries. This year, Pakistan had the honour of hosting the tournament. A local consortium of physics enthusiasts, gathered under the banner of Pakistan Young Innovative Minds (PYIMS ) and led by Dr Farida Tahir and Tahir Hussain Khan, organised the tournament.
The tournament saw teams from some 20 countries participate, with 150 physics enthusiasts in 15 teams from outside Pakistan participating including from Slovakia, China, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Hungary, Iran, Thailand, Ukraine, Croatia, Mexico, Poland, Brazil, and Georgia.
Pakistan, however, triumphed in the tournament and won the trophy.
The organisers said they received no support to organise the tournament, neither from the government nor the country's private sector.
In fact, they said that they received a major setback just days before the tournament commenced. With just ten days to go until the tournament began, individuals and institutions, who had committed to play a crucial role in hosting the tournament, backed out. This created immense hurdles in hosting the large event.
The organisers, however, leveraged their assets and created a group of like-minded individuals and friends to raise funds for the event. They also mobilised people who believed in their cause to make the event happen.
The couple lamented that they made personal calls on several individuals in the public and private sectors, but no one was interested in promoting science in Pakistan and showcasing the intelligent, bright side of our nation to the world.
They said this isn't as exciting as sports for sponsorship or official support, but it's equally, if not more important.
It is sad and extremely heartbreaking how this prestigious event was held in Pakistan, and the whole world was in awe of it, but the people of Pakistan were lost and ignorant of their country's triumph.