Utkarsh Kumar (first from left), his father and school secretary Matinul Hasan on Saturday. (Vishvendu Jaipuriar)

Hazaribagh, June 22: Utkarsh Kumar will certainly never forget 2013.

This year gave him two of the biggest achievements of his life — first, a 94 per cent in CBSE Class XII boards and now, the first rank state-wide in IIT-JEE (Advanced), the results of which were declared on Friday. The 18-year-old has secured an enviable 5th position (all-India) in the big-ticket exam that will ensure him a place in one of the IITs.

The aspiring engineer, who has not only made his school (Munam Public School situated on Mandai Road at Chouparan in Hazaribagh district) proud but also the entire district and state, thanked his scholarly family background for his brilliant performance.

“I am a hard worker, but what inspired me to crack this toughest examination is my family. My father is a civil engineer posted at Katkamsandi block, while my mother teaches at Zilla School. My mother’s sister is a doctor and three maternal uncles are engineers. All of them encouraged me to do something extraordinary in life,” said the resident of Suresh Colony in Hazaribagh town, who has made up his mind to take up computer science engineering.

Utkarsh, who had gone to meet his principal and teachers at Munam Public School, located about 55km from the district headquarters, further said he completed CBSE Class X from DAV Public School in 2011 with 10CGPA.

“I usually study for five to six hours everyday, which helped me crack IIT. I also got proper guidance from teachers at my school, where I was a boarder,” he said.

But that does not mean it was all studies and no play for the studious boy. “I participated in other activities too, though studies was always my priority,” smiled the young achiever.

Principal Wakil Ahmad, secretary Matinul Ahmad and manager Arafat Hasan are ecstatic.

“It’s indeed a matter of pride that a student of our school has catapulted Hazaribagh to national spotlight. Our school was established in 2000 and at present, has 1,500 students from classes I to XII,” Ahmad said.

Utkarsh’s father Mahesh Kumar said he didn’t have any doubt that his son would shine in the exam. “He is very consistent and has performed well in all previous examinations, which was enough to make us believe that he would crack IIT too,” he added.