BENGALURU: Achintya Krishna was travelling in an autorickshaw when he learned about the CBSE Class 10 results being declared. The 16-year-old was heading towards Sree Kanteerava Stadium from his residence to play basketball. On his phone, he searched for his results online, and was "shocked and excited" to see that he had scored 96 per cent.
Achintya may be just one of the many students in the city to have secured such marks, but there is something special about this youngster.
The city boy does not study in Bengaluru. He is a student of Jaypee Public School in Noida, although he studied till Class 8 in The Brigade School in the city. So why did he move out?
Well, Krishna was selected to be part of the NBA Academy India in Greater Noida in 2017, which houses some of the best upcoming hoopsters of the country. The academy provides a platform for Indian boys to develop into top professionals.
Krishna is thrilled that he is excelling in both sports and academics. He has represented NBA Academy India in the USA, Australia, Germany and Spain, and giving time to books was always a difficult task. But he somehow managed to find time for academics despite spending busy hours for basketball practice at the academy. However, he began his CBSE preparations only from December and kept himself away from the lure of social media.
“My study volume increased by five hours or so from December. During holidays in February, I just gave some more time to books, and studied for around seven hours per day. I also kept away from all forms of social media from February till the end of my exams,” said Krishna, who is finding it tough to choose between basketball and academics for the future.
Achintya wants to ensure that his academic performance and his passion for basketball don’t go waste.
“I am trying my best to get Division I Scholarship in the National Collegiate Athletic Association in the US so that I can continue playing basketball. I hope I can get admission in a good college there. I also want to represent India at various levels, and help basketball grow in India through use of science or data,” he said.