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Chandigarh lad Taijas secures AIR 1 in NEET UG 2024
A 19-year-old student, Om Vats of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Sector 25 West, was also able to secure AIR 192 by scoring 715/720
Seventeen-year-old Taijas Singh of Chandigarh scored a perfect 720/720 in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) UG exam and secured an All India Rank (AIR) 1 as per the score card issued by the National Testing Agency (NTA).
Singh is a student of Guru Nanak Public School, Sector 36. Till Class 10, he had been a student of Yadavindra Public School, Mohali and lives with his parents, both doctors, in Phase 10, Mohali. His mother, Dr Goldy Chhabra works at the Civil Hospital, Sector 45, while his father Dr Mandeep Singh works with the airforce at the 3 BRD station. He has an elder sister, Nimisha Singh who is pursuing a BBA from GGDSD College in Chandigarh.
Taijas says observing his parents work as doctors is what inspired him to opt for medical stream and prepare for the NEET exam. “Right now I just want to pursue my MBBS degree from AIIMS, New Delhi. I will see later what I want to specialise in while I’m confused between cardiology and radiology right now,” he said.
Speaking about his preparation, Taijas said he didn’t study really long hours but it was more about setting targets and keeping up with them. “I would study between eight to eight and a half hours a day and would set an agenda for the day before I started and then try and finish it. Sometimes I would take longer than expected but I would ensure that I wouldn’t lag behind in my overall preparation for the exam,” Taijas added.
When asked about what advice he would give to students preparing for NEET, he said, “Pay attention in class and always review the lessons later. Practice mock papers, sit down and analyse your mistakes and which questions you weren’t able to attempt.” After the final exam, he added, he was happy while tallying his answers with the provisional answer key and had a feeling of being able to attain a perfect score in the exam.
When not studying Taijas is fond of playing football. He also likes listening to music and watching movies to relax but he doesn’t have any favourites in particular. He is currently out of station and said that he will celebrate with his family when he gets back home. In 2023, Chandigarh NEET topper, Bhanu Arora had secured AIR 282.
JNV student secures AIR 192
A 19-year-old student, Om Vats, of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Sector 25 West, was able to secure AIR 192 by scoring 715/720. Vats hails from a modest background and his father Pawan Sharma juggles between a private sales and a photography job to make ends meet. “I scored 83% in class 10 despite being a topper before and felt discouraged, but my father encouraged me to take up medical. He would even stay up with me sometimes while I had to study till 3 am at times and would still get up early the next day and go to work,” Om said. He wants to pursue MBBS from Armed Forces Medical College, and wants to prepare for Union Public Services Commission (UPSC) exam in the future.
