Delhi boys sparkle in IIT entrance

New Delhi: City boys have proved their mettle in the IIT Joint Entrance Exam-Advanced this year. Ananye Agarwal, the Delhi topper, has secured all-India rank (AIR) 3, followed by Kushagra Juneja (AIR 11) and Kushal Patil (AIR 14), while Avanish Kumar Singh and Jatin Lamba have defied all odds to bag AIR 25 in the PwD category and AIR 33 in the general category, respectively.
The result of the entrance, taken by over two lakh candidates this year, was declared on Sunday. Out of the 8,871 students who appeared from Delhi, 37.5% qualified.
Born into a family of doctors, Agarwal, a student of Hope Hall Foundation School at RK Puram, said, “Yoga and meditation helped me focus on the eve of the entrance exam. I want to pursue computer science from either IIT Mumbai or Delhi.”
In his spare time, Agarwal likes to play guitar and used to play lawn tennis in school before enrolling into a three-year coaching programme in Class X. Unlike many in his generation, he stayed away from smartphones and social media. Agarwal has got 97.8% in Class XII CBSE exams and secured a 10 CGPA in Class X.
“Ananye was always interested in logic-based subjects like physics and maths. We always ensured that he was well rested and had a calm mind before his exam,” said his father Ramesh Agarwal.
Despite his lifelong disability of cerebral palsy, Avanish Kumar Singh secured an AIR of 25 in the persons with disability (PwD) category. Kumar’s father, a government employee, gave the full credit to his son’s hard work and unwavering determination.
Lamba, on the other hand, has faced financial constraints all his life. The son of an ata-chakki wala, Lamba said, “I had expected to be in the top 50 as I had worked hard every day. My mother was my pillar of strength throughout the preparation.” He has managed to secure 97% in the Class XII exams.