JEE Advanced AIR 1 credits family’s sacrifices for his success: Inside topper Shubham Kumar’s study strategy

For JEE Advanced AIR 1 Shubham Kumar, success wasn’t something he didn’t expect, for the topper had been preparing for the entrance exam for two years. The 18-year-old, who hails from Bihar’s Gaya scored 330 marks out of 360. While Kumar’s achievement is impressive, the journey behind it is also worth admiring. Shubam Kumar comes from a humble background. His father Shiv Kumar runs a hardware business in Gaya, while his mother, Kanchan Devi, is a homemaker. While Shubham’s father said he had expected a strong performance from his son after watching his determination, the topper credits his success to his teachers’ support and the sacrifices his family made for him. “"The biggest reason for my success was the trust of my teachers and the sacrifices of my family," Shubham said after the results,” he told PTI. According to Shubham, he studied for nearly six to eight hours daily on his own. He revised topics taught in class on the same day and practised questions regularly. While speaking to NDTV he said, "I focused more on weak topics. There was pressure at times, but I turned it into motivation. I stayed focused on my goal and believed in myself.” The most powerful thing Shubham did to avoid distractions was he self-imposed a ban on social media, and used his phone for studies and calling his parents. To prepare for the entrance, Shubham shifted to Kota when he was in class 11th. There, he joined a private coaching institute. Shubham Kumar, who has been a regular classroom student at a private coaching institute in Kota for the last two years, added another thing about his approach. He says he chose to avoid negative news and didn’t let it affect him. “When I was stressed, I would meditate for five to ten minutes,” he added.The proud topper says, “There should be a willpower, an urge from inside that we have to do something so that we can achieve our goal. I turned every challenge into motivation. My entire focus was on my goal.” Now Shubham aspires to pursue a BTech degree in Computer Science from IIT Bombay.