NEET Result: Kashmir boy (AIR 10) says ‘Internet connectivity bigger issue than Covid crisis’

Haziq is also the only candidate from the state who has achieved a rank in the top 50 candidates, and is the first to achieve a rank in the top 10 since 2018. “I have worked very hard in the past few years. I spent at least six to seven hours studying for the NEET and then increased my study hours in the last months,” he told the indianexpress.com. 

It was in class 6 when Haziq’s cousin entered this noble profession “and that was the time I came to know about these entrance exams and gradually my interest also developed (for NEET),” he reminisced, adding that some of his relatives are also doctors.

When asked if Covid demotivated him, Haziq revealed that more than the pandemic it was the internet connectivity issues that posed a problem for him. “In the initial months of Covid, we had to face a lot of internet connectivity issues because of which I was unable to attend my NEET coaching classes for some days. I faced this problem mainly in class 11, but things got better in class 12,” he said.

Talking about Covid, he also revealed that it was much later (towards the end of 2021) that he realised the importance of doctors in such situations and that motivated him to pursue medicine. Even his parents were very supportive of his career choice. “My parents also wanted me to become a doctor, and the long hours or exposure to deadly diseases is not something that scares me or my family. It is something I will have to undergo in my training and service and I am ready to do that,” he said.

Haziq is a strong believer that a NEET aspirant only needs to study NCERT books to ace the exam. “I studied from NCERT books in the last few months and that is the reason that I got such a good rank,” he said, adding that all aspirants should solely concentrate on NCERT-issued books. He now aims to get admission to AIIMS Delhi.

If not a doctor, Haziq would have wanted to become a professor of Physics, however “I was very young when I had thought of it as an alternate career choice, so I didn’t research much on it and focused on NEET instead.”

Although he has been a dedicated students, Haziq does like to sometimes simply relax and sit idle without taking up any hobby or stress. In such situations, his mobile phone also acts as his stress buster in such moments as he searches for motivational, strategical videos related to NEET.

Meanwhile, Lieutenant Governor Sinha also congratulated Haziq on Twitter. “Congratulations to Haziq Parveez Lone from Shopian for securing the All India 10th Rank in NEET UG- 2022 Result. Proud of your achievements. My best wishes to all the candidates from Jammu & Kashmir, who have qualified in the NEET exam,” he tweeted. He also received a congratulatory call from the DC office, and the locals of his district have also been congratulating him for his achievement. “It’s also their pride,” he said happily.

This year, 38140 candidates registered for the medical entrance and 36374 appeared, out of which 20005 have successfully qualified for counselling now and Haziq is the only candidate in the top 10. Last year, a total of 14743 candidates qualified out of 31479 candidates who appeared for the medical entrance exam. Additionally, this year, Jammu and Kashmir registered the highest number of qualified candidates since 2018 — 14743 candidates qualified in 2020, 13295 in 2019 and 12515 in 2018.