New Delhi/Kolkata, June 3 -- For 18-year-old Rajit Gupta, large banners and hoardings displaying photos and names of previous year's toppers of competitive exams acted as an inspiration, reminding constantly of his aim to find his own photo and name on one of those spots. A resident of Kota, considered India's coaching capital, Gupta bagged the top rank in JEE advanced, the qualifying paper for admission to premier IITs, results of which were announced on Monday. Gupta, an IIT Delhi zone candidate, scored 332 out of 360 marks in the entrance exam. "My seniors and teachers played a huge role in inspiring me to do well in the exam," Gupta told HT. Having scored a perfect 100 percentile (AIR16) in JEE mains, he was confident about JEE advanced. "I'm very happy with my result," he said, adding he plans to pursue BTech in computer science from IIT-Bombay. Apart from school hours, he studied 5-6 hours every day, without stressing about the results. On his immediate plans, he said, "I'm going to France to represent India on July 18 in the (physics) Olympiad." On the opposite spectrum geographically, Devdutta Majhi of Katwa in West Bengal's East Burdwan district focused solely on the tested combination of "hard work, dedication, and discipline" to achieve success. A candidate from IIT Kharagpur zone, Majhi topped among female candidates in JEE Advanced, scoring 312 (she was 16th on the common rank list). "I studied for 10-12 hours every day and followed a daily routine... Excellence doesn't come overnight. A lot of hard work, dedication and discipline go into success," Majhi said. She had topped the Madhyamik examination (Class X board) in West Bengal in 2023 and earlier this year, she hit the headlines for scoring perfect 100 in JEE Mains. "The only challenge I faced was the dearth of good teachers in the district. For that I depended on online classes with teachers from both Kolkata and Delhi," she said....