"I was upset when NEET paper got leaked, but re-exam helped me to secure rank one in NEET," topper Aryan Gupta told India TV Digital. Aryan from Ludhiana, Punjab secured All India Rank (AIR)-1 in NEET by scoring 715 marks. The topper scored 360 in Biology, Physics - 180, Chemistry - 175.
Talking about re-NEET and his success, Aryan said, "NEET paper held on May 3 was too easy, so I took it casually and it did not go well for me. My rank can be around 900, if I go with NEET paper. However, re-NEET was quite tough, and I took it seriously, so it helped me to get a good rank. I was confident of doing well in re-NEET and got overjoyed after the re-NEET result yesterday."
Regarding his preparation strategy, Aryan said, "I was preparing for NEET from Class 11. I devoted 13 to 14 hours daily for the NEET preparation along with my board exam. I mainly followed study materials and instructions by my coaching institute." Months before NEET, I put focus on attempting mock tests, sample papers and previous years' papers. "I have attempted around 40 mock tests that helped me to build my confidence to attempt NEET," he said.
Aryan's dream is to become an Oncologist with his pledge taken in third standard when his grandmother died from cancer. He will study MBBS from AIIMS Delhi.
The topper credited his success to his elder brother, Aditya Gupta who is a medical student at Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi. According to Aryan, "his brother acts as a motivation pill when he was down after the NEET paper leak. The motivation helped him to focus on preparations and to secure a good rank in NEET." Aditya secured AIR 54 in NEET last year. Both of Aryan's parents are doctors who act as an inspiration to take medical profession.
His advise to future aspirants - "Focus on solving questions and give as many mock tests you can that will prepare you for any competitive exam." Aryan scored a rank between 5000 and 6000 in JEE Mains and got 97.2 per cent in CBSE 12th.
A total of 11.21 lakh candidates got qualified in NEET this year. Panshul Bansal and Uplakshya Goyal secured rank 2 and 3 respectively. Kudale Shravani Krishna with rank 5 is the female topper.
Meet the top 10 AIR holders of NEET UG 2026
| Rank | Toppers | Percentile |
| 1 | Aryan Gupta | 99.9999 |
| 2 | Panshul Bansal | 99.9999 |
| 3 | Uplakshya Goyal | 99.99985 |
| 4 | Ayush Bhalotia | 99.99965 |
| 5 | Kudale Shravani Krishna | 99.99965 |
| 6 | Riya Ranjan | 99.99965 |
| 7 | Aryan Dubey | 99.99965 |
| 8 | Geetansh Sarin | 99.99915 |
| 9 | Gaurav Singh Mohanish | 99.99915 |
| 10 | Maruti Bhosale | 99.99915
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For details on NEET, please visit the official website - neet.nta.nic.in.
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