In the crowd of students scoring 90 per cent and above marks, an 88.6 per cent may sound average. But Fateh Singh Bhullar should not complain. That fact that he competitively took the CBSE Class XII examination is a feat in itself.

On March 28, 2018, the Commerce student from Genesis Global School, Noida, was going to Kathgodam railway station from Ramgarh in a Mahindra Bolero that plunged into a 100-foot-deep gorge. Fateh was left with a neck fracture and dislocated collar bone.

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The months that followed put the boy to a bigger test than the one he was preparing to take the next year.

Fateh had gone to an adventure camp in the Uttarakhand hills, arranged by his school. While returning, he was in the SUV along with five friends and a teacher and they were to board a train from Kathgodam to return to Delhi. During the road journey between Ramgarh and Kathgodam, they met with the accident.

“I could not sleep proper a night before, and was therefore sleeping on the way. It had been around an hour since we had left for Kathgodam railway station that the SUV fell into a 100-foot gorge in Nainital district. The next thing I remember was my friends and others trying to wake me up as I lay in the gorge,” Fateh said while speaking to thestatesman.com.

After the group was rescued and taken to a local hospital, they were told that they had cuts on heads, shoulders and other parts of the body. They had to again go to another hospital that is Krishna Hospital in Nainital where doctors said Fateh’s left collar bone was dislocated. Also, it was in a Delhi hospital that Fateh was told that he had “neck fracture”. “My left collar bone was dislocated, I was informed at Krishna Hospital,” he said.

His friends had also received injuries on ribs and legs, according to Fateh.

He was given a sling on discharge from Krishna Hospital.

“I could not go to school for two months and missed my classes. Also, summer break had started. It was not possible for me to study because I faced black-outs when I tried to study. I used to have nightmares too. Since I was asked by my doctor not to go for sports activities for six months, I could not relax doing those. It was not easy.”

But he did not give up, nor his family.

“My aunt and private tutor supported me in studying. My mother monitored my studies.”

Fateh, who has proven his mettle in the CBSE Class XII, gives the credit to his strong determination and hardwork, and also his parents, friends and other family members.

His father Harvinder Singh Bhullar is a criminal lawyer, and mother Sarabjeet Kaur is a lawyer too. Like his parents, Fateh too aspires to become a lawyer.

The CBSE Class XII results were declared on Thursday, May 2, but Fateh is still busy with his classes to prepare for law and also taking tests for competitive exams.

Fateh took his Class X examination from Pathway School, Noida. The resident of Delhi’s Greater Kailash says, “I had never imagined that such an accident could happen with me but now, when I have recovered, I feel there are bad times but they are not to stay, Good times too come in the life. So, one should never give up, instead work hard with strong determination and stay positive.”

The 18-year-old has indeed emerged as an inspiration for many.