Pune: Nineteen-year-old Ayush Ritesh Patil, a resident of Chinchwad, stands fifteen in the All India Merit of the NDA and NA Exam. Along with him, Vedant Mangirish Akerkar (18) a resident of Dhayari - Sinhagad Road also stood 339th in the all India merit.
A total of 662 candidates have been passed the 144th NDA Course to commence anytime in Oct 2020. The results were announced by UPSC on Monday. Both Ayush and Vedant are students of Apex Careers and have taken coaching for NDA written Exams as well as SSB Interviews at Apex Careers and have received guidance from Lt Col Pradeep Brahmankar (Retd).
Ayush did his schooling from Podar International School - Pimpri and secured 95 per cent in ICSE Board Exams in March 2017. He completed his Junior college from Sri Chaitanya Junior College and secured 86.15 per cent marks in 12th board examination. Ayush secured admission in College of Engineering, Pune (COEP) in 2019 in the Electrical Branch by getting a percentile of 99.35 in CET and secured rank of 1289 in Maharashtra State.
Ayush's father Ritesh Patil works as AGM with a private firm in Hinjewadi in the field of wastewater treatment. His mother Pranita Patil is a homemaker. Ayush is the only child of his parents. Ayush dreamt of joining NDA since eighth grade. Ayush wishes to join the Army wing of the NDA.
Speaking to Sakal Times Ayush said, "I am keen to join the special forces (PARAs) and want to lead a challenging life full of adventure. I have been a football player and have been the captain of my school team. My hobbies include reading, trekking and swimming have helped me a lot to boost me a lot to achieve my dream come true. The entire credit of my success goes to Lt Col Pradeep Brahmankar who constantly motivated me and was more confident of my success than myself. The SSB training received from him and the faculty at 'Apex Careers' will go a long way in shaping my career. My parents have supported me throughout and deserve the credit of my success.''
Vedant Akerkar, who is also in NDA merit, did his schooling from Sinhagad Spring Dale Public School and secured 89% marks in tenth CBSE Board Exams in 2018. On completion of the tenth, he got selected to join SPI (Services Preparatory School), Aurangabad. However, he preferred to continue his education in Pune. To pursue his dream of joining NDA, Vedant joined 'Apex Careers' coaching for two years in the XI+XII+NDA (2 years) batch and took the admission for XI in Kalmadi Shamrao Junior College. He secured 84% marks in the XII. He qualified the NDA written exam as well as SSB interview in his first attempt.
Vedant's father Mangirish works with an MNC in Bangalore as Assistant Manager with the Custom Care Department and his mother Anjali Akerkar is a homemaker. He is the only child of his parents. Vedant will be joining the Naval Wing of the NDA. The movie 'The Ghazi Attack' which he saw in 2017 inspired him to join the Indian Navy.
Vedant said, "I would love to be a submariner and lead a challenging life. I have played Cricket for four years as well as represented my school in Kabaddi tournaments and reached quarter-finals of the inter-school competitions. I owe my success to my parents as well as my guardian Ramesh Gurnani proprietor of Sneha Constructions, Pune. My Success is also due to regular guidance received from Lt Col Brahmankar during my two years coaching at his centre. I would also like to thank Brig Jay Konnur who guided me for SSB Interviews at the centre which helps me to crack the examination."
On the success of both the students, the director of Apex Careers, Lt Col Pradeep Brahmankar (Retd) said, "Duo youths will be undergoing a three-year training at NDA after which they will proceed to Indian Military Academy (IMA) Dehradun and Indian Naval Academy (INA) Ezhimala respectively for further training for one year. On successful completion of training, they will be commissioned as officers in the Indian Army and Indian Navy respectively."