10 out of 15 Anna Univ toppers from western Tamil Nadu

COIMBATORE: Coimbatore boy Keerthibalan T topped the Anna University rank list that was published on Friday. In fact, 10 out of the 15 toppers listed on the Anna University website in the academic category are from the western districts of the state, a trend that has continued for quite a few years now.
Anna University listed 1,50,950 candidates for counselling which will begin from July 1.Of these, the university has made public names of 15 toppers, across various categories, from the academic stream (students in this stream had maths, physics and biology in their Class 12 exams) on its website. Of the 15, 11 have a cutoff of 200 and they feature in the top 23. But, when TOI contacted them, only three wanted to pursue engineering, while eight others have plans to join medicine.
Keerthibalan, though a resident of Coimbatore, studied in Vidya VIkas Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Tiruchengode. He secured an aggregate of 1,185 in the Class 12 board exams, and had scored centum in all four majors- mathematics, physics, chemistry and computer science. He is also the state second rank holder in computer science.
He will be the first candidate to sit for the single-window counselling on July 1, and will be awarded the first seat. Keerthibalan's father Thurvalluvan K, 52, who is a district cottage inspector with the Tamil Nadu Khadi and Village Industries Board said, "We are happy that our son is the topper in the university's rank list. He wishes to study mechanical engineering in Anna University's Guindy campus.
Keerthibalan, after completing his graduation in mechanical engineering, wants to pursue higher studies in automobile engineering or aeronautical engineering. He is currently enjoying his vacation in his native place Theni.
Along with Keerthibalan, 22 other candidates also secured the maximum cut off of 200 makrs. Vigneshwaran S E, son of a daily wage labourer from Erode district, is also among the toppers. He wishes to pursue electronics and communication engineering in Anna University.
Karthick Raja J, a resident of Nammakkal district, wants to pursue electrical and electronics engineering from PSG College of Technology in Coimbatore. His father runs a grocery store in Namakkal district. Karthick studied in Adarsh Vidyalaya, Anthiyur, near Erode.