Don’t take results too seriously, says Delhi boy who came third in JEE Advanced

Delhi boy Ananye Agarwal secured All Indian Rank of three in 2017 IIT-JEE Advanced, and emerged as the state topper on Sunday.

With over 1,70,000 students appearing for the exam last month, topping the prestigious exam can prove to be a herculean task. However, Agarwal is rather composed for someone who has managed the feat. “It is important not to take the results too seriously. It can get stressful otherwise,” said Agarwal, who had scored 97.8% in his CBSE Class 12 exam.

Agarwal, a resident of Gulmohar Park, attended the Hope Hall foundation school, and stopped using his smart phone to focus on his exam preparations. He said he used to study regularly with small breaks. “My peer group was such that, we were all interested in computer science,” said Agarwal, whose parents are doctors. However, he wants to become an engineer.

Most students who have cracked the exam agree that it was time intensive process. Avanish Kumar Singh, a student of Kendriya Vidyalaya, with cerebral palsy, managed to secure an All India rank of 23 in the Persons with Disability category. “Avanish never really faced any tension. Even though he suffered from cerebral palsy, he was always very determined. Once he set a goal for himself, he worked really hard towards it, sometimes studying the whole day,” said Sheetal Singh, his mother.

Another, Shubham Atri secured an all India Rank of 18, and was placed fourth in the state. “I had expected better. I have always been a topper. I thought I would do better,” Atri said. His family echoed his sentiments. “He is disappointed. We had also expected him to at least get a position in top five all India ranks,” said his sister, Tanya Choudhary.

However, Kushal Patil, who scored the third rank in the state, and managed to secure an all India rank of 14, said that he was ecstatic. “I would have been happy if I made it to the 40s. This is much better than what I had expected,” said Patil, who said that unlike his peers he would take frequent breaks from studying to relax.

Agarwal on the other hand, took to yoga in the last week before the exams to ensure that he would be able to concentrate during the exams. “I used to practice mediation and breathing exercises for 15 minutes. This helped with concentration,” he said.

(With inputs from Dhwani Kachru and Sukriti Kapoor)