NEET 2020 | Topper Akanksha Singh hopes to become neurosurgery researcher

“Earlier, I wanted to be an IAS officer, but from Class 9 onwards, I wanted to be a doctor only," says Akanksha Singh

Akanksha Singh. Photo: Special arrangement

It’s been a long journey from a village school in Abhinayakpur in Uttar Pradesh’s Kushinagar district to the top of the NEET rankings for Akanksha Singh. The girl from rural Purvanchal has become one of only two students to score a historic perfect 100% in the medical entrance examination.

“I studied in my own hometown till Class 10, but after that I came to Delhi with my father. He stayed with me in a hostel so that I could study Class 11 and 12 there and achieve my dream of becoming a doctor,” said Ms. Singh, speaking via phone late on Friday night.

Her father is a retired sergeant with the Indian Air Force, while her mother is a primary school teacher. She credits her parents as her inspiration, as well as Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“Earlier, I wanted to be an IAS officer, but from Class 9 onwards, I wanted to be a doctor only. I liked that medicine is a job where you can interact with people. My dream was to make it to AIIMS,” she said. She hopes to specialise in neurosurgery research someday. “I hope that my research will benefit people not only from my village, but all over India,” she added.