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Girl students dominate medals tally
Female students bag 133 of the 196 medals awarded during the convocation. Samiya Ikram, an MSc student, tops the list with 14 medals
LUCKNOW Girl students dominated the medal tally at Lucknow University’s convocation on Tuesday.
Of the 40,000 degrees and 196 medals conferred during the day, around 24,000 degrees and 133 medals were awarded to female students.
Samiya Ikram, an MSc student and topper of LU’s mathematics department, topped the list with 14 medals, including 11 gold.
Eight of the top 10 medalists were girl students – Vibhantika Diwedi (8 gold medals), Saliha Khatoon (7 gold medals), Apoorva Singh (6 gold medals), Tanzila Siddiqui (6 gold medals), Nimisha Singh (5 gold medals) and Hargun Sahni (3 gold medals).
“I am happy and my parents are elated. This is a strong footing for my dream,” said Samiya Ikram.
“Maths has been my favourite subject since school days,” she added.
Her father, Ikram Hasan, a retired engineer, said: “I have two daughters and a son and my daughter made me a proud father.”
“She has been a brilliant kid since school days, but we are overwhelmed to see more than a dozen medals around her neck,” said Samiya’s mother, Farah Hasan.
Another medallist Tanzila Siddiqui, (student of social work), said: “This recognition will help me achieve my goals. I am working for rural women. My dream is to uplift those who are deprived and deserted.”
Ram Sevak Gupta, 72, saw his granddaughter Swapnil Gupta being awarded two gold medals. “I used to hear that girls are not less than boys in any way. Today, my granddaughter has proved it,” he said.
“Hard work pays. I want the other students to take interest in Sanskrit and let people know that this language is the soul of India,” said Swapnil.
