With all-India rank of 9, Delhi topper at JEE(M) sets sights on bigger goals

NEW DELHI: Three Delhi students excelled in the JEE Main exam, the results of which were declared on Monday, figuring in the top 20 all-India ranks. The Delhi state topper, Simar Preet Saluja, ranked at 9th position with a score of 345 out of 360. However, with eyes on the JEE Advanced paper, scheduled to be held in the next 20 days, there is little time for Saluja to sit back and soak in the success.

A student of DPS RK Puram, Simar Preet Saluja, was also a Delhi topper in the National Talent Search Examination conducted by the National Council of Educational Research and Technology in 2016, and the Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana (KVPY) exam. Saluja has been studying with FIITJEE’s Punjabi Bagh branch since Class VI.

Saluja aspires to secure a seat with IIT Bombay, and has an interest in computer science. But with the Advanced exams scheduled in the next 20 days, he has little time to enjoy the spot. “I am going to study for the Advanced exam as there is no time to relax,” he told TOI.

Son of a banker and government employee, Saluja always had a liking for science and maths, and that’s what he took in his Class XI, which put him on the road to engineering. He has an elder brother, who is preparing for his civil services exam, but Saluja has nothing else on mind but to get to IIT Bombay, though Delhi is also an option for him.

The other two rankers from Delhi are Navneel Singhal from Paharganj, who took his exam from Kota and secured 11th rank with 340 marks, and Anirudh Panigrahi at rank 18 with 337 marks. Ayush Garg from Faridabad was at number 12.

The all-India topper, Bhogi Suraj Krishna of Andhra Pradesh, is also looking at IIT Bombay as his final destination. “He wishes to pursue computer science in Mumbai,” said his father Hari Krishna. The topper’s father said Suraj was yet to reach home in Vijayawada from his coaching institute, and was planning to come only after appearing for the Advanced exams. “We are very proud of him. He has also been selected at the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education,” said Hari Krishna.