Ahmedabad: The results of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for postgraduate medical courses (NEET-PG) were declared on Thursday. While state-wise data is yet to be released, experts associated with the admission process said five candidates from Gujarat are expected to figure among the top 100 ranks at the national level.Experts said admission merit is likely to be slightly lower than last year. Around 5% of candidates scored more than 500 marks, while over 86,000 candidates secured less than 200 marks out of the total 720. The examination was conducted on Aug 30 and was attended by about 2.7 lakh candidates across the country, including nearly 15,000 from Gujarat.They also pointed out that the current examination pattern carries 720 marks across 180 questions, compared with the earlier format of 800 marks. Available cut-off scores indicate 262 marks for the General-EWS category, 244 for General-PwD and 226 for SC, ST and OBC candidates.Among the top performers from Gujarat, Dr Hrisha Bhansali, a graduate of NHL Municipal Medical College, secured 612 marks and an All-India Rank (AIR) of 25.“I am the first doctor in my family and wanted to make it count. I studied consistently through self-study at home and in libraries along with online coaching. My internship and college examinations helped me prepare, and I focused mainly on MCQs,” she said. Bhansali hopes to secure admission in Medicine or Radiology at BJ Medical College.Dr Ved Ambani of BJ Medical College secured AIR 30 with 610 marks. The son of an orthopaedic surgeon and an anaesthetist, he said his internship experience proved valuable in tackling the application-based questions in the examination.“I want to pursue a surgical branch and eventually become an orthopaedic surgeon,” he said.Another successful candidate, Dr Jayrath Shah, secured AIR 493 and said students should not give up their interests while preparing for competitive examinations.“It is possible to balance studies with hobbies and other interests. Along with preparation, I continued activities such as badminton, trekking, guitar and other pursuits,” he said, adding that he hopes to pursue postgraduate studies in orthopaedics.
