Dhillon has not just proved her excellency in academics but she is also an accomplished sportsperson.

A national-level rifle shooter, she had won a gold medal in state-level shooting championship in 2019 and was selected for nationals thereafter.

(Photo credit: Special arranegement)

The sports star has has scored 99.50 per cent in the humanities stream. Placed at number two position in all-India merit list, and the highest scorer in Punjab, she says that her father Gurvinder Singh Dhillon, who is an advocate, has been her biggest inspiration. “My father has always motivated me at every level. He is my only inspiration,” said Dhillon, whose mother Jaspreet Kaur Dhillon is a homemaker.

She scored a perfect 100/100 in mathematics and sociology, 99 in political science and physical education and 93 in psychology. “I only took tuition for mathematics. I was never expecting to be in the all-India merit list but just a decent score,” she said.

She is now preparing for the UPSC and judicial exams, and is aiming for admission in Panjab University, Chandigarh or the Army Institute of Law, Mohali.

“Instead of studying all at once just ahead of exams, I was very regular with daily revisions and studied for 2-3 hours every day. I also took breaks when I was tired and used social media as a stress buster,” she said. “I had to discontinue my shooting practice during exams but I will be resuming it now. I practise shooting at a private range in Patiala,” said Dhillon, a resident of New Officers Colony, Patiala.

She shares the top position in Punjab with Joy Jasmine Kaur from British Co-ed High School, Patiala, who also scored 99.50 per cent.

Kaur (18) is an avid orator and an active member of her school’s debate club. She scored a perfect hundred in mathematics and chemistry, 99 in English and physical education and 98 in physics.

Her father Jasbir Singh is a government employee and mother Narinderpal Kaur a homemaker. She now aims to pursue software or computer science engineering.

“I feel it’s all about consistency and regular studies. You grasp a little every day, not all at once. Practise and revision is what matters for maths and physics,” she said. “I used WhatsApp but stopped using Instagram during exams,” she said.

“My mother is also a postgraduate in mathematics but she left her teaching job to raise me and my sister,” said Kaur.

“Due to Covid, studies had got irregular and everything was in a chaos so I took some private guidance but overall my school teachers played major role in preparing us for exams. Self-studies matter the most,” she said.