Two Chennai students among top 20 in JEE Advanced exam – Times of India

CHENNAI: Two students from Chennai were ranked among the top 20 in JEE (Advanced) whose results were declared on Friday, while more than 30 students from Tamil Nadu secured ranks within the top 1,000.
While Anand Narasimhan (all-India 17), who also topped the state, said he hadn’t decided on the IIT he wants to join, Ashwin Abraham (all-India 18) is keen on opting for computer science at either IIT madras or IIT Bombay.
Anand, who secured 320 of 360, said he was confident of getting high marks as he had done well in maths. Many had found the maths section lengthy and tough. Anand, who has been preparing for the past two years, said, “I want to study computer science. But, I have not decided about the IIT.”
Practising past years’ papers, material given by his coaching institute and books recommended by teachers had helped, he said. “The online mode preparation was challenging, but I had more time as there was no travelling,” said Anand, who is also interested in coding, motorsports and cricket.
Ashwin Abraham, who also scored 320 of 360 marks, said, “I practised many mock tests and my teachers helped me cope with online mode and to get high marks.”
Playing cricket with friends and family members helped him cope with the pandemic, he said, adding that he prepared for around 10 hours a day for the exam.
R Gokulakrishnan and Shankar Balajee, also from Chennai, ranked 140 and 152, while Harshitha Muthavarapu, who topped TN among girls, ranked 449 and may choose computer science in IIT Bombay or IIT Madras.
“There was a huge difference in marks and ranks within top 1,000 ranks this year compared to 2020,” said B Pavan Kumar, deputy director of FIITJEE, Chennai.
“The extra four months that students got after the exam was postponed due to Covid-19 second wave helped them prepare well.”
Shilpa Hari, Chennai area general manager, Narayana Schools, said TN students did well.