BHUBANESWAR: Priya Somadutta Nayak, a student from city-based SAI International School, has emerged as the State topper in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) UG - 2022, the results of which were declared by the National Testing Agency (NTA) late on Wednesday.
Priya who scored 705 out of 720 marks figured among the top 50 rank holders in the prestigious entrance test. With 99.997 percentile he got All India Rank 39 in the exam.
Priya, who had completed his Class XII from SAI International with 96.8 per cent this year, said he used to study for nearly 10 hours a day and was preparing for the NEET UG for the last two years.
"It was my childhood dream to become a doctor and I want to pursue MBBS at AIIMS, New Delhi," he said.
Priya who thanked his parents, teachers and faculty members from his coaching institute said he started attending coaching classes for the entrance test right after Class X.
"I was expecting to secure marks above 700 and I am happy with the rank I have secured," he said.
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Apart from Priya, Odisha's Pritam Gochhayat and Chandan Dash are among the top ten differently-abled boys.
Gochhayat has secured 99.676 percentile, while Dash has got 99.234 percentile in the entrance test.
Close to 45,000 candidates had registered for the exam in Odisha this year of which a total of 43,080 appeared and 26,279 qualified.
Tanishka from Rajasthan has become the All India Topper in the exams with 715 marks, followed by Vatsa Ashish Batra from Delhi and Hrishikesh Nagbhushan Gangule from Karnataka.
NEET UG is the gateway exam for candidates aspiring to pursue a career in medical sciences.