3 weeks Ago By Prashant Rupera
Vadodara: When he was about to take his Class 10 board exams, Aadit Bhagade faced a personal challenge at home. His mother, Dr Dilita Bhagade , a gynaecologist, was diagnosed with cancer, which pushed her into a "compulsory vacation". The fairytale life of the Bhagades took a devastating turn.
Aadit, their only son, was at a crucial phase in his academic career, with his Class 11 and Class 12 studies looming. But Aadit was not deterred and emerged as a national topper in Session 2 of JEE Main 2025 , the results of which were released by the National Testing Agency (NTA) in the wee hours of Saturday. The 17-year-old Vadodara boy is among 24 candidates in India and two from Gujarat to secure a perfect 100 NTA score.
Aadit, who stood 14th in India, improved his own NTA score from 99.9976 in JEE Main 2025 Session 1 (results declared in Feb) to an NTA score of 100 in JEE Main 2025 Session 2. "My treatment continued for two years, which were crucial years in Aadit's academic career.
As a family, we decided that his focus should not shift to my treatment. Instead, he should take everything positively," said Dr Dilita, the obstetrician-gynaecologist who herself began writing a book, ‘My Aie's Chutneys', exploring her culinary skills, something the 45-year-old had hitherto barely explored. Aadit cooked up his own recipe of success.
He stayed away from social media and focused on school and study assignments. "The only platform I used was WhatsApp, and that was just to share school and study assignments," said Aadit. "All of us (friends) would work together, solve papers together, attempt mock papers and discuss questions after the mock papers.
" During school days, Aadit spent six hours a day studying at home. "During holidays, I would study for ten hours," he said, adding that while his study mainly happened at school, he would revise and practice question papers at home. Aadit's father, Dr Prakash Bhagade, is a physician.
Prakash said Aadit's love for mathematics led him to start preparing for JEE from Class 9. "I am certainly happy with the NTA 100 score. But JEE Main was a qualifying round.
My focus is now on achieving the best possible score in JEE (Advanced) to enter an IIT," said Aadit, who hopes to get into IIT Bombay. "I am yet to decide on the discipline/stream I want, but I would like to get admission to IIT Bombay," Aadit, a student of Navrachana Higher Secondary School, Sama, told TOI. MSID:: 120434294 413 |.
