He beat all odds to emerge triumphant

Last year, when Ashish Kumar Tiwari (18) scored 169 out of 200, he decided it wasn’t good enough for him. So this year, he took the exam again, and on Sunday, seized his moment of glory — he scored 197 on 200, taking him to third spot in the MBBS merit list. Yashshri Soman reports.

He’s never been inside a cinema hall. And he hardly has space for his books in the single room in Dahisar that he shares with his parents and two brothers.

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All he had was a burning determination to reach the top.

Last year, when Ashish Kumar Tiwari (18) scored 169 out of 200, he decided it wasn’t good enough for him. So this year, he took the exam again, and on Sunday, seized his moment of glory — he scored 197 on 200, taking him to third spot in the MBBS merit list.

After writing his HSC exams last year from Royal College, Mira Road, Tiwari scored 87.33 per cent, which wouldn’t have got him into any of the top colleges in the city. His brother Rohit (17) also wrote the CET this year and scored 167 out of 200.

“I can’t express how happy I am to know that I’m third on the merit list this year. Last year, I scored only 169 but I decided to take a drop and write the exam again,” said Ashish.

To prepare for his second shot at the CET, Ashish studied for 14-16 hours daily, his only leisure activities being long, lonely walks and playing cricket.

“I’ve never ever been to a cinema hall in my life. I used to relax by taking walks and playing chess or cricket,” he said.

“He studied sincerely by himself. We never had to push him even once. I only ensured that he had home food, instead of eating outside,” said his mother Bala Tiwari (35), a homemaker.

“He has made us very proud. He worked really hard and I hope he continues his studies with the same determination and focus,” said his businessman father Jayprakash Tiwari (37).