NOIDA: Vinayak Sreedhar could write only three papers in his Class 10 CBSE exams and passed away before he could appear for the remaining two. But in the three papers he wrote, Vinayak, who idolised

, scored nearly 100 in all of them.

Vinayak scored 100 in English, 96 in science and 97 in Sanskrit, but he could not appear for computer science and social studies. He had wished to top the Class 10 exams, become an astronaut and visit Rameswaram. But he was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy when he was 2 years old.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a genetic disorder characterised by progressive muscle degeneration and weakness. It is caused due to the absence of dystrophin, a protein that helps keep muscle cells intact.

A student of Amity International School, Noida, Vinayak appeared for the exams under the general category. “His muscular movement was very limited. He could write slowly but since there is time duration for exams, he used a writer for his English and science papers. For Sanskrit, he insisted on

it himself. His body movement was restricted and he was wheelchair-bound. But his mind was very sharp and aspirations very high,” Mamta Sreedhar, Vinayak’s mother said.

“He would always say ‘I want to become an astronaut despite all the challenges and if Stephen Hawking could go to Oxford and make a name in cosmology I can go to space too’. He was confident that he will be among the top rankers. We were always surprised by his confidence and encourage him,” she added.

Vinayak’s principal Renu Singh was all praise for him. “Vinayak was our best student. Despite being wheel-chair bound, he was lively and would participate in the school activities. Despite his difficulties, he was as an inspiration for everyone. People who surmount immense difficulty shine as example for us to follow.”

Among his unfulfilled wishes is a visit to the Rameswaram temple near Kanyakumari after the exams. “We are today in Rameshwaram and are going for darshan in the evening. It was his unfulfilled wish so we decided to not postpone the plans and do it for him,” his mother said on Monday.

Vinayak, however, is not the only one in his family to make his parents proud. His sister is an Indian Institute of Science (IISc) alumnus and is currently pursuing her PhD at the University of British Columbia on a fellowship.

While Vinayak’s father is the vice-president of GMR, his mother is a homemaker by choice. “I made this choice. My entire day revolved around him. From brushing his teeth to feeding him, I did it all myself but it was his willpower which always gave us the strength,” she said.

With inputs from PTI