Zirakpur boy braves surgery to emerge among the top 10
Bhartesh Singh Thakur
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, June 10
Neel Aryan Gupta (17) had to postpone his surgery to take the Joint Entrance Examination (Main). He took the exam in pain, got his surgery done later, recovered, took the JEE (Advanced) and got all-India rank (AIR) 10.
A student of Sri Guru Gobind Singh Senior Secondary School, Sector 35, Neel Aryan was suffering from anal fistula. He was in pain and was not able to sit. “Sometimes, it used to pain so much that I would squeeze my father’s hand. He took care of me. My mother had to go for work,” he said. His father Shankar Gupta is a property dealer, while his mother Renu Garg works as a senior branch manager at Oriental Insurance.
Neel Aryan remained admitted the whole night on March 20 at Alchemist Hospital, Panchkula, and appeared for the CBSE Class XII mathematics paper the next day. However, he scored 100.
He was advised surgery, but he was to take the JEE (Main) on April 8. So, on the advice of the PGI, he was put on conservative medicine.
His coaching classes and studies remained disturbed. He could only secure AIR 182 in the JEE (Main).
Finally, he went for a surgery on April 16 and took at least three weeks to recover. “I continued to study while lying down. My coaching teachers used to send me study material on e-mail. However, I started sitting gradually and appeared for a mock test on May 6, which went well,” he said. “Once he told us his confidence level had gone down. However, he regained it. When he appeared for the JEE (Advanced) on May 20, he was in high spirit,” said his mother Renu Garg.
“After the exam, I did not have any clue. I was expecting to figure among the top 100, but not among the top 10,” said Neel Aryan.
He scored 310 out of 360, with 102 in mathematics, 101 in chemistry and 107 in physics. “Chemistry is difficult. In inorganic chemistry, you have to cram a lot. I am poor at that,” he said.
He scored 93.2 per cent marks in Class XII. A resident of Zirakpur, he went to Manav Mangal School, Panchkula, for Class X, where he got a CGPA of 10.
“Your teachers will clear your concepts, but you have to analyse mistakes. Strategy is important, especially deciding which subject you need to do first,” he said.
He chose the non-medical stream as he loves mathematics.
“I want to take computer science at the IIT, Bombay. I want to do business after that. I do not want to do research,” he said.
He was studying for about 14 hours, which included eight to nine hours of self-study.
His other achievements included clearing the Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana (KVPY), the Indian National Chemistry Olympiad and the Indian National Astronomy Olympiad.
He used to play video games and watch movies during free time. “I listen to songs even while doing mathematics, and problems get solved easily,” he said.
PEC student Sahil Sood bags AIR 36
A student of Punjab Engineering College (PEC), Sahil Sood (19) has bagged AIR 36. He had got AIR 70,000 in the JEE (Main), but improved his rank in the JEE (Advanced).
“I was studying for four to five hours daily. One doesn’t have to give up, but keep working hard with dedication towards the goal. I had a passion to join the IIT. So, I tried again,” he said.
“My main focus was on the JEE (Advanced),” he said.
He did his Class XII from Government Model Senior Secondary School (GMSSS), Sector 35, Chandigarh, where he scored 95 per cent marks.
He scored a CGPA of 10 in Class X, which he did from St Kabir Public School, Sector 26, Chandigarh.
His father Sanjay Sood is a manager with Punjab National Bank, while his mother Preeti Sood is a lecturer at the GMSSS, Sector 35.
He did not take any coaching for his recent IIT attempt as he had to attend PEC also.
He reads, listens to music and plays football in his free time. His team won the inter-school tournament in 2015 in Chandigarh.
Dhoni fan is AIR 52
A student of Bhavan Vidyalaya, Panchkula, Aneesh Garg (18), has bagged AIR 52.
He scored 285 out of 360, with 116 in physics, 83 in chemistry and 86 in mathematics.
“I did not have any fixed hours of study. I used to study for eight hours in addition to three to four hours during coaching classes,” he said.
“Having confidence in yourself and proper guidance are important,” he said.
He did his Class XII from Bhavan Vidyalaya, Panchkula, where he got 96.4 per cent marks, while he did his Class X from St Stephen’s School, Chandigarh, where he scored 92.4 per cent in the ICSE examinations.
His father Deepak Gupta, who works as an Assistant Director (General) in the telecom ministry, inspired him to take the non-medical stream. His mother Tinu Gupta is a government schoolteacher in Punjab.
“I want to take computer science at the IIT, Bombay,” he said.
Aneesh is a fan of cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni. “I have played cricket at the inter-school level. Watching cricket matches and listening to music are my hobbies. I love romantic songs,” he said.
