A collapsed lung, a heavily bandaged body and severe vision impairment could have forced 17-year-old Gunjan Kumar to step away from his JEE dream. But when his health struggles made it impossible for him to continue his preparation, his mother stepped in to ensure his goal stayed alive.
Months later, the student from Sitamarhi, Bihar, achieved a remarkable milestone by securing admission to the Computer Science programme at IIT Delhi’s Abu Dhabi campus, transforming a difficult phase filled with pain and uncertainty into a story of resilience and success.
A Health Crisis During Crucial JEE Preparation
Gunjan moved to Kota, Rajasthan, in 2023 to prepare for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE). However, his journey took an unexpected turn in October last year when he developed severe chest pain.
Doctors diagnosed him with pneumothorax, a condition involving a collapsed lung, and he underwent surgery. Following the procedure, Gunjan remained bedridden for nearly three months and struggled to continue studying during one of the most important periods of his JEE preparation.
“At that time, I wasn’t thinking about IIT at all. I wasn’t even allowed to get up because my body was bandaged,” he said.
His focus shifted from cracking the entrance exam to recovering physically.
Mother Becomes His Academic Support System
When Gunjan could no longer attend his studies, his mother, Gunja Kumari, stepped forward. A homemaker and a BEd graduate in social science, she returned to subjects she had left behind years ago to help her son prepare.
She attended his online coaching classes, created handwritten notes containing complex equations and revised lessons alongside him. With recorded lectures becoming their main source of learning, she worked tirelessly to support his preparation.
“It took her 2-and-a-half hours to write notes from a 1-hour lecture. She would ask me questions so that I wouldn’t forget what I had studied.”
Returning to Preparation With Just Weeks Left
Gunjan recovered only in December, leaving him with just around three weeks before the JEE Mains examination in January.
“The notes my mother prepared became the foundation of my revision.” he said.
With determination and support from his mother, Gunjan managed to score 91.8 percentile in JEE Mains. He later cleared JEE Advanced 2026 with a rank of 50 in the PwD-OBC category and secured a common PwD rank of 120.
His performance earned him admission to the Computer Science programme at IIT Delhi’s Abu Dhabi campus.
A Mother’s Sacrifice Behind Her Son’s Success
Gunja Kumari recalled the challenges of managing household responsibilities while caring for her son and relearning physics, chemistry and mathematics concepts.
“It was very challenging... but I never let myself get upset because I knew my son would lose hope if I did.”
[With TOI inputs]
