TT Sensation Harimita Patel: The Doctor with a Killer Backhand

Surat : Harimita Patel is an MBBS student at Gujarat Adani Institute of Medical Sciences (GAIMS) in her fourth year, and she also happens to be a table tennis champion.

She’s been a fan of the game ever since she was a little girl. Her father first noticed that she had a passion for the game while she was in fifth grade. Harimita is the fortunate daughter of a Railways official father and a homemaker mother who raise her and her younger sister with plenty of love and care.

Thanks to the support of her loved ones, she is currently competing in state tournaments and against other universities in intercollegiate competitions. Two years in a row, she has taken first place in the KSKV Kachchh University Inter-College Table Tennis (TT) event. The West Zone Inter-University TT Tournament also included her.

She is a talented athlete and a top student. Her aspiration to become a doctor was realised when she performed admirably on the National Eligibility and Competency Examination (NEET). Both academics and extracurricular activities, especially sports, are essential for students’ holistic development. It’s true, as Harmita says: “TT has helped me attain focus, which in turn helps me in my studies.” Everyone has been supportive of my academic and athletic endeavours.

She hopes to become a paediatrician after finishing her MBBS, internship, and residency since she enjoys working with children. A GAIMS student from Navsari cited “the very good faculty; the environment is safe and conducive to pursue medical studies; and the facilities at the hospital are excellent” as reasons for his decision to enrol there.

“To create doctors who are informed, devoted, and caring in their work, GAIMS has always worked to instill the spirit of excellence in academics with distinction in athletics and co-curricular activities for all-round growth. Harimita has given honour to the institution, and for that we are grateful,” says Dr. A N Ghosh, Dean of GAIMS and Professor in the Department of Microbiology.

The Government of Gujarat and the Adani Foundation in Bhuj, Gujarat, have collaborated to create GAIMS, a self-sustaining medical college and multi-specialty hospital. Krantiguru Shyamji Krishna Verma Kachchh University is the parent institution of GAIMS. The G. K. General Hospital (GKGH) is the sole comprehensive academic medical centre serving the people of the Kutch region. In the 2001 earthquake, GKGH was totally damaged. The administration made the choice to reconstruct the medical centre. It has an arrangement with the Adani Foundation to build a hospital and medical school in the area and turn over management to the latter.