From construction site to medical college: Odisha farmer’s son cracks NEET, secures MBBS seat

On June 14, as the sun bore down on a bustling construction site in Bengaluru, 19-year-old Shubham Sabar paused to take a phone call. What came through the crackling line changed his life forever: he had cleared the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET).

The son of a small-time farmer from Mudulidhiah village in Odisha’s Khurda district, Sabar broke into tears. “I told my parents I’m going to be a doctor,” he recalled. For months, he had mixed cement and hauled bricks to earn just enough to sustain himself and set aside savings for his medical dream.

Earlier this week, that dream took flight. Shubham has secured admission to the Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur, Odisha, after ranking 18,212 in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category — his very first attempt. Once he completes the course, he will be the first doctor from his panchayat in nearly half a decade.

The oldest of four siblings, Sabar grew up in poverty, acutely aware of how far a meagre harvest had to stretch. “My parents owned a small patch of land and worked hard to feed us. But I was determined to study and change my life,” he said.

Scoring 84% in Class 10, he went on to BJB College in Bhubaneswar, where he studied with grit, supplementing lessons with tuitions in maths and chemistry before completing Class 12 with 64%. It was during those years that the idea of becoming a doctor crystallized.

With limited means, Shubham enrolled in a coaching centre in Berhampur to prepare for NEET. Once the exams were over, he headed to Bengaluru in search of work. “I spent three months at a construction site. Whatever I saved, I used partly for coaching fees and partly for my MBBS admission,” he said.

For Shubham, the road from a dusty worksite to the corridors of a medical college is more than just personal triumph — it’s a story of grit, sacrifice, and a future that now holds the promise of healing.