TN mother-daughter duo ace NEET

CHENNAI: It was a double delight for the family of 49-year-old Amuthavalli Manivannan of Tenkasi. While she bagged an MBBS seat at the Virudhunagar govt medical college, her daughter M Samyuktha is set to join her in the MBBS journey.

While the mother, who scored 147 marks in NEET, got the admission under the reservation for persons with benchmark disabilities category, Samyuktha has scored 460 marks. The daughter is now awaiting her turn to make her choice at the general counselling.
Amuthavalli, a physiotherapist by profession, tried to pursue medicine long ago, but her efforts did not bear fruit. Now, three decades later, inspired by her daughter’s preparation, she too prepared for the examination with her child and wrote it with her.

The physiotherapist credits her daughter for rekindling her interest in medicine after decades, and thanks her husband for taking care of the family during her preparation. “My daughter used to attend coaching classes for the test, and I used her books to prepare,” Amuthavalli told TOI.

“The syllabus has vastly changed from the time I studied, especially considering that I was a state board student. Physics was the hardest as it involved mathematical understanding. However, my daughter guided me, and I was able to understand the concepts and ace the test on my first attempt,” Amuthavalli said.

On Wednesday, having smashed the age barrier, a beaming Amuthavalli, accompanied by her daughter, entered the counselling hall and picked a seat of her choice.

Samyuktha, however, has got several options. NEET does not have any age or upper limit on the number of attempts.

The offline counselling for 7.5% reservation for govt school students and special categories, including persons with benchmark disabilities, children of ex-servicemen and eminent sports persons, was held on Wednesday.