Defying financial hardships through determination and discipline, Mahesh Kumar Thakur, son of an e-rickshaw driver, has emerged as the district topper in the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) Class 10 examinations, the results of which were declared on Monday.A student of Government Girls Secondary School on Ladowali Road, Mahesh secured 643 marks out of 650, scoring 98.92 per cent. He also secured the third position in the state merit list.Coming from a modest background, Mahesh said his family’s financial limitations became a source of motivation rather than discouragement. His father drives an e-rickshaw to support the family, while his mother is a homemaker.Mahesh now hopes to study medicine and become a cardiologist at AIIMS Delhi. He said the increasing number of deaths caused by heart attacks inspired him to choose the field of cardiology.“Cases of heart attacks have increased a lot in the recent years. Seeing this, made me think about becoming a cardiologist so that I can help people,” he said.Sharing his study routine, Mahesh said he depended largely on self-study consistency instead of coaching or expensive resources. After returning from school every day, he would dedicate nearly two to three hours to focused study.“When resources are limited, education becomes the strongest support for the future,” he said.The PSEB Class 10 results also saw other students from Jalandhar securing top positions in the state merit list.Pawni Kashyap, a student of School of Eminence, Adampur secured the second position in the district and fourth in the state by scoring 642 out of 650 marks.Similarly, Prabhnoor Bhelle from Government Girls High School secured the third position in the district and sixth in the state with 639 marks out of 650. Prabhnoor said she plans to pursue medical and later appear for the NEET examination.Overall, Jalandhar district recorded a strong performance in the Class 10 board examinations this year, with 17 students featuring in the state merit list.Across Punjab, the PSEB Class 10 examinations witnessed a high pass percentage. Out of 2,69,505 students who appeared for the examination, 2,54,744 successfully passed, taking the overall pass percentage to 94.52 per cent.Girls continued to outperform boys in the board examinations this year as well. The pass percentage among girls stood at 95.96 per cent, while boys recorded a pass percentage of 93.23 per cent.