Bidar (Karnataka): Bidar boy Karthik Reddy emerged as Karnataka's NEET topper this year, scoring 710 out of 720 marks and a percentile of 99.99.
His AIR (all India ranking) was nine, and he stood fifth-highest among male toppers in the country.
Karthik, a student of Shaheen Ind PU College, had secured rank nine in Veterinary science in Karnataka CET examination and is the only candidate from the state to feature within the All India top 50 ranks in this year's NEET.
"I started preparing for NEET from class 11," he said, adding that he looks forward to pursuing medical studies at AIIMS, New Delhi.
Karthik, who likes to play cricket, said that he utilised the time during Covid lockdown to prepare for the exam.
"Lockdown was a boon to me. Many students did not use the period effectively," he said, adding that he attended mock tests regularly and practised over 100 test papers that helped him during the actual exam.
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Meanwhile, Mohammed Arbaz Ahmed, who is also from Shaheen PU College, scored 700 marks and secured AIR rank 85. He is the son of a lorry driver who had lost his limbs in a mishap.
NEET was postponed this year due to the pandemic and was conducted on September 13. A re-exam was conducted on October 14 for candidates who had missed the test due to the pandemic. As many as 1,005 candidates in the state had registered for the test in Kannada medium.
