HYDERABAD: In the fiercely competitive landscape of entrance exams, balancing academics and athletics is not an easy feat. However, for 17-year-old Sriyashas Mohan Kalluri, who is also a 'Khelo India' Athlete, it is as easy to hit the bullseye as it is to score a perfect 300 in the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) Mains Session . Sriyashas is one of the seven students from Telangana to achieve a 100 percentile score.
On Tuesday, the National Testing Agency (NTA) announced the results of the January session of JEE Mains 2024. Of the 11 lakh candidates, a total of 23 students secured a perfect score of 300. Of these, seven students are from Telangana, making the state home to the highest number of 100 percentile scorers for this attempt.
While it a known fact that the process to crack the entrance examination is rigorous, Sriyashas, who wants to become a physics researcher, said, “Continuous preparation, a calm mind and focus have helped me crack the exam.”
Besides him, the top scorers from Telangana are Rishi Shekher Shukla, Rohan Sai Pabba, Muthavarapu Anoop, Hundekar Vidith, Venkata Sai Teja Madineni and Tavva Dinesh Reddy.
What lies ahead?
Now that these seven candidates have secured a perfect score in the JEE Mains Session 1, they are eligible to join the National Institute of Technology, much like others who have cleared the exam. However, most of these young students have plans to join the Indian Institute of Technology. For this, they will have to sit for the JEE Advanced exams, scheduled for May.
Speaking to TNIE, Sriyashas shared, “I am exploring opportunities to join the IIT for a Physics programme. So, I will continue to study for JEE Advanced with the same rigour as I did for the Mains.”
He also credits archery for helping him learn the importance of focus.
While speaking to the media, another top scorer, Sai Teja, said that playing sports like table tennis helped him cope with increasing stress levels.
This session of JEE Mains has also been positive for the BC Intermediate students. According to reports, 48 boys and 42 girls from the community cleared the exam in the state with flying colours.
BC Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar and principal secretary Burra Venkatesham are said to have congratulated them.