CBSE Class X results: Gurugram boy fought dyslexia to score 81.4%

GURUGRAM: When Gaurav Dahiya joined Amity International Sector 46 in 2015 as a Class VIII student, he was apprehensive about competing with students of this prestigious school. Not because he got the admission through EWS quota — his father works as a driver — but because he suffers from dyslexia, a learning disorder.
However, in his new school, Gaurav found immense support from his teachers and classmates. Even though he had to repeat Class IX, a score of 81.4% in Class X proved that nothing is impossible.
A resident of Hans Enclave in Sector 33, Gaurav scored 82 marks each in English and Hindi — languages that he always feared as dyslexia impacts reading and spelling abilities. In home science, IT and social science, he scored 72, 90 and 81 respectively.
Gaurav, who participated in Khelo India 2019 and won a gold medal in Kabaddi, spent just one and a half hours for studies a day. “I spent most of my time on sports training as I had to participate in Khelo India. For my academic success, I would like to give the credit to our school principal, who helped me with my subjects on weekends,” he said.
Talking about his parents’ apprehension over his participation in sports tournaments, Gaurav said, “Before 2015, I was in a boarding school in Rohtak. Kabaddi interested me from a young age, but my parents didn’t know about it. However, when I broke my ankle during a sports training in 2011, my parents came to know about my interest. They were so upset that in 2015, they brought me back to Gurugram. However, after I participated in national-level tournaments here and my school (Amity International) supported me, my parents understood the importance of sports in my life.”
While Gaurav’s father drives a car for a living, his mother is a homemaker. “My son used to get up at 4am and sleep at 11pm. From December 2018 till January 2019, when he took part in Khelo India, he was on a strict diet. Though I was worried about his health, today I am a proud mother. For people like us, it is difficult to afford private schools and expensive sports training. However, my child is lucky that he got all this despite our economic condition and his learning disorder,” said Krishna Dahiya, Gaurav’s mother. She added that some of his teachers also sponsored protein supplements for him.
“I am proud of Gaurav. He has broken the myth that there has to be a dividing line between normal students and students with learning disabilities,” said Arti Chopra, the school principal.