Bhubhaneswar: Shoyeb Aftab has created history by becoming the first child to score full marks in NEET 2020 i.e 720 out of 720 to secure All India Rank, AIR 1.
He is also the first topper from the state of Odisha. NTA released the NEET 2020 results and shared the scorecard of Shoyeb. Times Now reached out to Shoyeb to discuss his dreams and ambitions.
Son of tea merchant
Aftab’s father is a businessman and mother a homemaker. He will be the first in his family to join a medical college. As a student, Aftab recounts, he was good in studies but not exceptionally so.
When Aftab was in Class 8, his father, who was a tea merchant at the time, suffered tremendous financial losses. His father then changed his business but Shoyeb was not certain if his family could afford coaching classes in Kota.
“My father’s construction business worked and I was able to take admission in Allen’s in Kota. My mother moved from Odisha to Kota with me along with my younger sister to support my dream and ensure that I was able to concentrate on my studies,” Aftab told Times Now.
He did not score great initially but later he improved. “My marks in Class 11 were just ok and not great and I was not able to put in a lot of hours in my studies either,” he says.
“I came to know about Tallentex – the scholarship program of Allen, which is at par with NEET level. It was then that I focussed and started to put in my effort. After I cleared the exam, I was motivated and also started to put in more effort,” Shoyeb shared.
Studied 16 hours everyday
Speaking about his routine, Shoyeb said that he used to go to his coaching classes directly from school and his day usually started at 6 am and finished at 7 pm. After this, Shoyed used to devote 2 to 3 hours for self-study.
“I was not happy with the 3 hours of self-study and would devote the holidays and Sundays for self-study. On those days I put in 13 – 14 hours uninterrupted. For my Class 12 boards, I only started to study in the month of January.” Shoyeb scored 96 per cent marks in his CBSE Class 12 board examinations.
Shoyeb credited his success to his mother who he says stood by him and supported him unconditionally. He aspires to get admission in AIIMS New Delhi.