Shopian: Haziq Parvez was about to retire to bed on Wednesday at 11:30 pm when he learned that the National Testing Agency (NAT) had announced the results of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET).
With his heart in his mouth, Haziq checked the results on his mobile phone and was taken aback to see that he had bagged all-India rank 10 scoring 710 out of 720.
“I was expecting the same score but not the rank,” Haziq said with a smile on his face.
He said that it was the rank that sprang a surprise.
Haziq, a resident of apple-rich Trenz village, some 7 km from Shopian town, qualified the NEET in his first attempt and emerged the topper from Jammu and Kashmir.
The news set off a wave of euphoria in the entire village with locals making a beeline at Haziq’s house.
“We’ve had a steady stream of visitors since morning,” he said.
A group of locals said that it was a proud moment for all of them.
“It is for the first time that someone from our village has achieved such a feat. We are very happy for him,” they said.
According to Haziq, he was in 6th standard when he dreamt of becoming a doctor.
Haziq said that he would study 5 to 6 hours in 11th and 12th standard and study up to 10 hours as exams approached.
“Hard work and consistency played a key role in qualifying such an exam,” Haziq said.
He did his 11th and 12th from Government Higher Secondary School, Turkwangam, and received coaching for NEET from a private coaching institution.
Thanking Allah, Haziq gave the credit for his success to his family and teachers.