Anupam Rana has become the first student from College of Art and Crafts and the Patna University to win a gold medal at the National Youth Festival, a feat he achieved at the 31st edition of the festival held at the University of Mysore last week.

The final-year undergraduate student of sculpture bagged the medal in clay modelling at the fest organised by the Association of Indian Universities, New Delhi, competing against students from universities from across the country.

"Clinching the gold at the National Youth Festival is not only a matter of pride for me but for the entire university," said Rana, who is from East Midnapore in Bengal and who returned to Patna on Monday.

He learnt the nuances of clay modelling from his father, Nimay Rana, who too is a sculptor. Rana said he was given two-and-a-half hours at the festival to prepare his artwork on the theme of yoddha (warrior).

"The national-level competition had strict rules and guidelines. The maximum height of the artwork was not to be more than a foot and it had be completed within deadline," he said.

Through his work, Anupam focused on bringing out the anger of a warrior holding a sword.

Anupam, who aspires to become to an art teacher, said such exposure was very helpful for students, as College of Art and Crafts is the only reputable art institution in the state.

"It is a big achievement not only for the college but also for the university, as a student has received gold medal at a national event," said Patna University cultural board secretary Atul Aditya Pandey.

He added that two Patna University students had got entry into the National Youth Festival based on their performances in the East Zone Youth Festival held at Tezpur University, Assam, in January.

The 77-year-old College of Arts and Crafts, which offers bachelor degrees in fine arts in painting, sculpture, applied art and photography, recently decided to start postgraduate programmes from academic session 2016-17. It.

More than 1,200 students from 70 universities from across the country took part in the five-day fest that started on February 15. University of Mysore hosted the fest for the first time. Kannada film director Nagathihalli Chandrashekar inaugurated the event.