‘We are proud of his achievement'

In becoming the youngest Indian to climb Mt. Everest, 16-year-old Arjun Vajpai has also done his alma mater, Ryan International School, Noida, proud.

School principal Anuradha Sharma said that while being exceptional in outdoors, Arun was also a well-balanced student who took academics and sports seriously.

“Arjun has been winning the best athlete award for over five years now and is also a good basketball player. He is an above-average student and takes his academics seriously. He has been enjoying his passion for the outdoors without compromising on his studies. We are proud of his achievement.”

As for Arjun, he wants to join the Army and serve the country like his father. But for that his family knows that he would have to study hard. As his mother Priya Vajpai put it: “My future plan for him is to ensure that he does well in his board examination. I have no dreams for him as of now, Arjun has been speaking about wanting to join the Indian Army we will see how it goes. This year the focus will be his board exams.”

Celebrations at Arjun's home continued late into Saturday night after news about him having successfully climbed the Everest broke in the morning.

“It's been a frantic day for us at home today [Saturday]. The phone hasn't stopped ringing; the house has been full of visitors, relatives and well-wishers who have been dropping in since morning to congratulate us on our son's achievement,” said Ms. Vajpai.