With the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) announcing Class X board examination results on Tuesday, four students were jointly declared as all India toppers after scoring a whopping 499 of the total 500 marks.
Being the only boy among the toppers, 16-year-old Prakhar Mittal, a student of DPS in Gurgaon's Sector 45, was "extremely" happy at his performance. He checked the results himself. "I did not expect to top the board examination. I thought I would score 90 per cent only," he said.
Mittal, who wants to join the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and become a Computer Engineer, had also represented the country in International Robotic Olympiad. "I am very interested in Robotics. Our team secured the second position at the 13th World Robot Olympiad's finals held in Noida in 2016. We created a robot that identifies recyclable waste and dumps it in the garbage bin," he said.
He scored a perfect 100 in English, Science, Mathematics and Social Science. "One marks got deducted in French. I don't know what went wrong," he said.
Nandini Garg was abroad when the results were announced and Rimjhim, a student of RK Public School in Uttar Pradesh, scored cent percent in English
Similarly, when the news reached 16-year-old Rimjhim Agrawal, a resident of Uttrakhand's Kotdwar town, she could not believe it. "It was like a dream-come-true moment for me and my family. I did not plan so much for my studies. I just focused on what was important," she said.
Rimjhim, a student of RK Public School in Uttar Pradesh's Bijnore district, travels every 8 to 10 km everyday to reach her school. She has scored cent percent marks in English, Science, Social Science and Hindi, and a 99 in Mathematics.
Shamli girl Nandini Garg, another sharer of the top rank, got to know about her result while she was aboard a train. "I got to know about the result and could not believe at first. It was the most wonderful news I have ever received," she said. Both Rimjhim and Nandini want to pursue engineering at some IIT after their schooling.
However, Cochin girl Sreelakshmi G, one of the four toppers in CBSE Class 10 board examination, wants to pursue a career in medicine. "I want to join the Armed Forces Medical College in Pune. I want to serve those who sacrifice their lives for the country," she said.
