HS topper, farmer’s son lead Bengal charge in NEET
Times of India | 15 June 2025
12 Kolkata: Higher Secondary topper Rupayan Pal bagged the 20th position on the NEET-UG merit list, which was published on Saturday. Kolkata boy, Rachit Sinha Choudhuri, ranked 16th in the all-India entrance test to medical schools, becoming the NEET topper from Bengal, while Anik Ghosh, a farmer's son from Murshidabad, ranked 67th. Rachit's favourite pastime is playing tabla and loves to spend his time in the kitchen. But his last three months' sole focus had been preparations for the entrance test. "As I was scrolling through the merit list, my father started screaming in joy on spotting my score and rank. I had given my 100% to this exam, but this rank was beyond my expectations," Rachit told TOI. The elation over his son's success was evident on the face of Rachit's father, Shirshendu, who runs a business. "He has diverse qualities besides his studies. He is a good cook. So much so that he can even whip up a continental dish. He is very good at tabla, too. But he completely focused on his preparations for NEET the past three months, setting aside everything else. He even logged off social media and handed his phone to us," he said.Rupayan had scored 497 out of 500 (99.4%) in HS, topping the state board Class XII exams, and had even ranked 5th in his Madhyamik in 2021. The past two years had been about preparing for his boards and entrance tests "Studying for the two exams together was not very difficult as the two syllabi are almost similar. I kept practising the answers as much as possible, which I think helped me a lot. A clear concept of the topics is important, whether it's a board or a competitive exam," he said. While both Rachit enrolled at Aakash Institute, Rupayan took online tests there. He enrolled at Pathfinder, too. Son of high school English teachers, Rupayan wants to become a cardiologist or a neurosurgeon. He loves reading books and watching sports but stays off social media.Anik's father sold off 1.5 bigha of a 3-bigha land he owned in their Murshidabad village, to enrol his son, a first-generation learner, at Allen Coaching to help him pursue his dream of becoming a doctor. Anik had set his heart on becoming a doctor when he was a child after his grandfather died due to lack of treatment. "I still remember that day though I was a kid," he said. "It's my dream to become a neurosurgeon and serve rural people, who have limited access to proper medical services." Anik couldn't study much in Dec and Jan because he was unwell but he concentrated on his preparations from Feb. "But I love watching films and web series, something I could not give up even ahead of exams. I think studying properly for three-four hours a day is enough to crack competitive exams," he said.
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