Coimbatore: R Srijan, 19, who is ranked eighth nationally in NEET, says his aim is to become a cardiologist.
A native of Vellakovil in Tirupur, he has scored 710 marks out of 720, the highest in the state, in the test. He says he was deeply interested in biology and has read the biology textbooks of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) fully six times. “Reading the NCERT biology texts over and again made me thorough in the subject.”
As for physics and chemistry, he says, he focused on solving problems. “Here too, I understood the concepts given in the NCERT textbook, and practised by solving problems. My coaching centre also gave me material for this.”
This was Srijan’s second NEET attempt. Last year, he could score only 385 marks out of 720. He then decided to take a year’s break and attempt the test again. He attended coaching sessions at a private coaching centre in Namakkal. “As this was my second attempt, I was better prepared. First time, I was nervous, but with experience, I was more composed this year.”
It was his passion for biology that made him try for MBBS. “I want to join Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research (Jipmer) in Puducherry to pursue MBBS and after that take up cardiology,” Srijan says.
Apart from biology, what fascinates Srijan is football. He has represented his school in several matches. “But I had to sacrifice football for a year to focus on NEET. If the coursework allows time, I would play again after joining the college,” he says.
Srijan did his schooling at a Central Board of Secondary Education school in Erode. His father D Rajavel owns a spinning mill in Tirupur and his mother R Kanimozhi is a homemaker. He has a younger brother, Akilesh.