CHENNAI: As many as 1,859 students from Tamil Nadu cleared the JEE Advanced, the results of which were declared on Monday. Divyanth Jayakumar, who secured an All India Rank (AIR) of 80 with a score of 285 out of 360, emerged as the state topper. Rajit Gupta of IIT Delhi zone secured top position in the country with 332 marks.
According to sources, 8,488 students from the state had registered for the exam, and 7,787 appeared. While three students from the state made it to the top 100 ranks last year, only one has featured in the top 100 this year.
The IIT Hyderabad zone recorded the highest number of qualifying candidates in the country this year, with 12,946 students clearing the exam – an increase from 11,180 last year. The zone had two candidates in the top 10, 23 in the top 100 and 139 in the top 500.
The zonal status for the southern region alternates between IIT Madras and IIT Hyderabad. The Hyderabad zone comprises IIT Hyderabad, IIT Madras, IIT Tirupati, and IIT Palakkad, covering the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala.
This year, IIT Bombay and IIT Delhi zones outperformed IIT Hyderabad in terms of top ranks.
Speaking to TNIE, Divyanth Jayakumar said he had been preparing for the JEE Advanced since Class 9. A native of Erode, he was brought up in Chennai and studied at Chettinad Vidyashram. “I plan to pursue Computer Science Engineering at IIT Bombay,” he said.
Commenting on the low representation of TN students in the top 100, B Pavan Kumar, a Physics professor and IIT-JEE coach, said this year’s paper was lengthier than usual. “No one from the state crossed the 300-mark.
Many struggled to complete the paper, which impacted their scores. In such scenarios, students from Andhra Pradesh and northern states tend to have an edge,” he said. However, the number of students from the state in the top 1,000 is likely to be similar to last year, he added.