Celebration time: Pranav Goyal with family and friends in Chandigarh Sunday. Jasbir Malhi
IF PRANAV Goyal was excited about being named the all-India JEE Advanced topper this year, his calm demeanour did not give it away. He coolly answered all the questions thrown at him.
The JEE Advanced 2018 results were declared on Sunday with the Tricity getting three students in the top 100, of whom two were batchmates at Bhavan Vidyalaya, Panchkula. Pranav’s teachers at one of the city’s top coaching institutes, however, are not too surprised by his reaction. “Pranav is a humble kid. Initially, he struggled just like any other student. But his innate ability to handle pressure and his strong concepts helped him attain accuracy and a fair understanding of all the subjects,” said a faculty member of the mathematics department at the institute.
The teacher added that his approach towards exams got better with each passing day and the fierce competition in the batch pushed him harder.
His chemistry teacher said, “Chemistry was one of his strongest subjects. He focused on the concepts and devoted at least an hour to studying his NCERT textbook.” Besides excelling in studies since childhood, Pranav has remained an Olympiad champion throughout his schooldays. He is a Kishore Vaigyanika Protsahan Yojana (KVPY) scholar, National Talent Search Examination (NTSE) scholar and Indian National Mathematical Olympiad scholar, among others.
When the CBSE Class 12 results were declared last month, he was away for a Physics Olympiad camp to IIT-Bombay. “I could not succeed in getting selected for the international team, but it was a great experience,” said Pranav, adding that he will be in Hyderabad for some press conferences and will celebrate with family and relatives after he returns home. He has always dedicated his success to his parents’ sacrifices and values. His parents, Mamta and Pankaj Goyal, are running a pharma start-up called Albia Biocare. He has a younger brother, Raghav, who is studying in Class 8.
His mother, Mamta, said Pranav was inclined towards medical sciences and loved biology in Class 8, but started enjoying science and mathematics from Class 9. “He was good in all subjects. But then, we saw that he started enjoying mathematics and science. I would like to tell parents to let their children do what they’re interested in, be it studies or other activities,” she added.
She said a strong family support system was essential for kids to succeed. “If you have a child who’s not too good in studies, it doesn’t matter. Your child is your gem, no matter what. Studies are not everything. Support your children and they will excel,” she added.
Mothers, especially, should not use negative words and should praise their kids in front of others. “I never used negative words about my kids. I would always say, ‘You’re very good, you’re a gem’. Tell your kids you’re lucky to have them,” she signed off.
Last year’s Advanced topper also from Bhavan’s Panchkula
Like Pranav Goyal this year, Sarvesh Mehtani who was the JEE Advanced 2017 topper was also a student of Bhavan Vidyalaya, Panchkula. This year, the school has performed well throughout the year by producing the three stream toppers not only in Class 12 CBSE board examination, but also three of the four toppers in CBSE Class 10 board examination.