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With 83.5%, ace paralympian excels in PU exams, too

Last Updated 22 May 2017, 19:00 IST

Students who worry about balancing academics with their interests in sports, music or other activities can be inspired by the example of Punith N. The paralympic swimming champion juggled training, competitions and classes, to score 83.5% in the second PU examinations.

Punith, who was born with a deformed hand, took an interest in swimming in 2012. He has won several gold, silver and bronze medals in the annual National Paralympic Swimming Championship.

He continued his rigorous swimming practice even as a student in Sarvajna PU College. In fact, he made regular visits to the pool even during the examinations, on the days when he did not have a paper to write.

“I travel from my house in Vijayanagar to the pool in Banashankari twice every day. In the morning I used to train from 5 am to 8 am. Then I would attend college from 9 am to 4 pm and go back to the pool to train from 4.30 pm to 7 pm,” Punith said.
Just two days after his last exam, Punith took part in the 16th National Paralympic Swimming Championship held in Jaipur and clinched four gold medals and one silver medal.

In spite of not having enough time to revise everyday or go for coaching classes like his peers, Punith scored 95 in Physics, 94 in Mathematics, 99 in Computer Science and 79 in Chemistry. “I used to concentrate in class and then study only right before the exam,” he said.

Punith attributed his success to his Mathematics teacher in college, Yathiraj, who helped him catch up with classes. “I used to miss a lot of classes when I had to participate in competitions. He would give me extra classes in the evenings so that I could catch up,”  he said. He also thanked his father Nanda Kumar, who was in the Air Force, mother Meena Kumari and swimming coach Sharath M Gayakwad.

Punith wants to continue taking part in competitions and dreams of winning medals for the country at international platforms. He also wants to become a mechanical engineer.

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(Published 22 May 2017, 19:00 IST)

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