Ayush Patil, 19, has had a sizzling start to his army aspirations. The Chinchwad native has stood 15th among 662 successful candidates in the All India Merit list of the National Defence Academy (NDA) and Naval Academy (NA) examinations. This is a combined examination. The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) announced the results recently.

Patil also passed the Services Selection Board (SSB) exam, given after the NDA exam. The SSB is an organisation that assesses candidates for becoming officers in the Indian Armed Forces.