Bidar boy is Karnataka’s NEET topper

He is a student of Shaheen Pre-University College

Karthik Reddy, who bagged 710 out of 720 marks, was the State topper.

Of the 89,359 candidates who appeared for the UG National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) 2020 from Karnataka, 61.56% have qualified. This is a 1.69% drop from the previous year where 63.25% of 1.02 lakh candidates had qualified.

The percentage of students who have qualified for the test in the State is higher than the national average of 56.44%.

The success of two students from Shaheen Pre-University College in Bidar is significant. Karthik Reddy, who bagged 710 out of 720 marks, was the State topper. He secured the ninth All India Rank, and is the only person in Karnataka in the top 50.

“So many doctors are COVID-19 warriors who are putting their lives at risk. Their dedication is commendable,” he said.

Karthik decided he wanted to become a doctor when he was in class 10, and wants to study in the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. “I prepared for eight to 10 hours every day from class 11 onwards, and used the lockdown period to solve mock test papers every day,” he said.

Humble background

Arbaz Ahmed, who is also from Shaheen PU College, secured 700 marks. He is the son of a lorry driver who had lost his limbs in a mishap.

NEET was postponed due to the pandemic and was conducted to September 13. A re-exam was conducted on October 14 for candidates who had missed the test due to the pandemic. As many as 1,005 candidates in the State had registered for the test in Kannada medium.