Shanan Dhaka: The 19-year-old who topped the NDA entrance exam

Shanan Dhaka, a resident of Rohtak in Haryana, has secured the first rank among women candidates in the entrance examination for the National Defence Academy (NDA). It will be the first time that the NDA will admit women cadets to the institute. She stood 10th in overall rankings in the NDA entrance exam result that was declared on 14 June. As per a report by The Indian Express, the NDA course will have 19 girl cadets — 10 for the Army, six for the Air Force and three for the Navy. The academy has said the three-year training will be conducted in a “gender neutral” manner. Let’s find out more about the topper of the NDA entrance exam: Who is Shanan Dhaka? According to The Indian Express, Shanan, 19, has studied in the Army Public Schools at Roorkee, Jaipur and Chandimandir (Panchkula). Last year, she enrolled for an undergraduate course at Lady Shri Ram College for Women in Delhi. Upon hearing about the opportunity for women at NDA, she “decided to apply at once”. She took inspiration to join the armed forces from her grandfather, Chanderbhan Dhaka, who was a Subedar, and her father, Vijay Kumar Dhaka, who retired as a Naib Subedar from the Army Service Corps. “Growing up in cantonment areas, I saw the respect being accorded to Army officers. Plus the trust everybody has in Army personnel really motivated me to join the service. It’s an opportunity to serve the nation with unparalleled pride and honour,” she said, as quoted by The Indian Express. Shanan’s elder sister is in the military nursing service while her younger sibling is in Class 5. How did she prepare for the exam? It was not an easy task to get in. Of the 5,75,856 total applicants, 1,77,654 were women. The exam was held on 14 November last year and women were only allowed after a Supreme Court direction to the Centre in September. Shanan dedicatedly studied for the entrance exam for 40 days. Currently living in Punjab’s Zirakpur, she would study five hour every day during that period. Her preparation involved solving previous years’ papers of the entrance examination. The report said that for the Services Selection Board, she was mentored by Colonel Ashokan, a veteran at his Olive Greens institute, for two weeks. She also received tips from Suman Singh, a retired army officer and principal of APS Chandimandir, for the interview. “Be honest and enjoy the process, I was told,” Shanan said. With inputs from agencies Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.