Odisha, Oct 16: Shoyeb Aftab creates history as he tops the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, NEET 2020 examinations. In the recently announced NEET results and merit list, Shoyeb Aftab has scored a perfect score of 720 on 720 – to become the first student in history of NEET exams to do so. We reached out to the NEET 2020 Topper, AIR 1 rank Shoyeb to congratulate him and share his experiences and journey.
Shoyeb has not merely created a record of 100 per cent. He is also the first student from Odisha to top the NEET examination. As a student, Shoyeb recounts, he was good in studies but not exceptionally so. When he was in Class 8, his father, who was a tea merchant at the time, suffered tremendous financial losses. It was then that his father changed his business but Shoyeb was not certain if his family could afford coaching classes in Kota.
“My father’s construction business worked and I was able to take admission in Allen’s in Kota. My mother moved from Odisha to Kota with me along with my younger sister to support my dream and ensure that I was able to concentrate on my studies.”
But it was not particularly great in the beginning. “My marks in Class 11 were just ok and not great and I was not able to put in a lot of hours in my studies either,” he says. But they improved and he was even able to get the scholarship.
“I came to know about Tallentex – the scholarship program of Allen, which is at par with NEET level. It was then that I focussed and started to put in my effort. After I cleared the exam, I was motivated and also started to put in more effort,” Shoyeb shared.
Managing school and self-study required some work. Shoyeb used to go to his coaching classes directly from school and his day usually started at 6 am finished at 7 pm. After this, Shoyed used to devote 2 to 3 hours for self-study.
“I was not happy with the 3 hours of self-study and would devote the holidays and Sundays for self-study. On those days I put in 13 – 14 hours uninterrupted. For my Class 12 boards I only started to study in the month of January.” Shoyeb scored 96 per cent marks in his CBSE Class 12 board examinations.
Looking towards his future, Shoyeb shared that he is very happy and credits all his success to his mother who stood by him and supported him unconditionally. He aspires to get admission in AIIMS New Delhi.
(Courtesy Times Now)
