NEET AIR 1 Aryan Gupta: ‘Had cried a lot when exam was cancelled… but then I wasn’t alone’

For Panshul Bansal, a second shot and a perfect finish

Written by: Divya Goyal, Vidheesha Kuntamalla

6 min readLudhiana, New DelhiUpdated: Jul 17, 2026 11:05 AM IST

Aryan Gupta

Just over two months after watching his medical dreams seemingly collapse with the cancellation of the NEET-UG examination amid a paper leak controversy, Aryan Gupta on Thursday scripted a comeback by securing the joint All India Rank (AIR)-1 in the country’s biggest medical entrance test.

The 17-year-old from Ludhiana, who says he “cried a lot” when the May 12 exam was scrapped, scored 715 out of 720 marks in the re-test. Aryan shares the top rank with Haryana’s Panshul Bansal.

In the results declared by the National Testing Agency (NTA), 11.21 lakh candidates qualified the entrance exam. Aryan and Panshul’s score of 715 is 29 more than 686 secured by the 2025 topper, when an unusually tough paper ensured that not a single candidate crossed 700.

This year, 19 candidates scored 700, 138 obtained 690 marks, 1,492 candidates scored 650 or above, and 10,160 scored 600 or more, as per the NTA. More than 58 per cent of the qualifying candidates are women.

This year the NEET was embroiled in a major controversy. Following widespread allegations of paper leak and irregularities, the exam conducted on May 3 was cancelled by the NTA on May 12. The CBI is investigating the matter.

NEET Result 2026 Live Updates

The exam was re-conducted on June 21 and over 22 lakh candidates appeared.

When the exam was cancelled, Aryan says he had “cried a lot”. But the very next day, he picked his books again to prepare for the re-test. “I decided I can’t give up so easily. However, it took a week to regain the momentum,” said Aryan, a resident of Ludhiana’s Dugri area.

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“My elder brother Aditya, who is also pursuing MBBS, was my strength in those tough days. He said that the re-test was in fact an opportunity to prepare and perform better,” said Aryan, who did his schooling from Sacred Heart Convent School, Sarabha Nagar, Ludhiana.

“Initially it felt tough to study for the re-test all over again but then I realized I wasn’t alone. There were 22 lakh others who were going through the same,” said Aryan, who is also a state-level table tennis player and had scored 98.4 per cent marks in medical stream in CBSE-12 class exams.

Teachers and coaching institute played a crucial role in his preparations, “but what matters the most is how you use your time judiciously,” says Aryan.

“At the peak of my preparation, I even studied 16-17 hours a day but then I also took breaks. I used social media and watched Netflix to relax,” says Aryan, who aims to be an oncologist, as his grandma had died of cancer.

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His father Dr Sachin Gupta is an anesthetist, and mother Dr Reenu Gupta a gynecologist.

Read | NMC releases seat matrix; 9,911 new MBBS seats added this year

Dr Sachin Gupta said: “There are rotten apples in every system. We still have full faith in the NTA. The NEET continues to be the most competitive, fair and objective exam”.

For most NEET aspirants, 701 marks would have been enough to celebrate — a score that would have comfortably secured one admission to one of the country’s premier medical colleges. But for Panshul, it became the starting point. “I was expecting a good college even with my first score,” says Panshul, a student of Somerville School in Delhi’s Kailash Colony. “Maybe VMMC or somewhere similar. But I wasn’t expecting this.”

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The result, he says, was the outcome of sustained hard work.

Unlike the image often associated with India’s most competitive entrance examinations, endless study hours, isolation and burnout, Panshul’s preparation followed a surprisingly balanced routine.

His day began at 6.30 am. Instead of opening textbooks immediately, he allowed himself time to unwind before beginning focused study around 9 am. He studied until noon, took a long lunch break, resumed from afternoon and studied until early evening, then stepped out to play, and finally returned for about an hour of revision at night. “I didn’t compromise on spending time with family or friends,” he says.

Nor did he give up his hobbies. When the pressure of preparation mounted, he turned to piano, skating, tubing, outdoor games and even video games.

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His advice to future aspirants is practical. “Focus on question practice,” he says. “Solve as many questions as you can and keep giving mock tests. They show you exactly where your weaknesses are.”

For Panshul, consistency mattered more than intensity. “The biggest hurdle was making sure my scores didn’t fluctuate,” he says.

His ambition has always been to become a surgeon. Although he has not yet chosen a specialty, neurosurgery and cardiothoracic surgery currently interest him the most. As for where that journey begins, he doesn’t need time to think. “AIIMS,” he says.

Meanwhile, among the State toppers, Jigmet Yangchan Lamo from Ladakh scored 530, Dhruv Tripathi from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands 606, and Fahmida Anees from Lakshadweep 573 marks.

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Of the State Toppers, 17 scored 700 marks or above, while 26 scored above 690 marks.

The top 17 rankers who scored more than 705 marks came from eight states — Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana.

The NTA said the result was declared in time to keep the medical admission and counselling calendar on track.

Scorecards for all candidates, along with the full list of Top Rankers, State Toppers, category-wise toppers, category-wise cut-off marks, and language-wise participation data, are available on the official website, neet.nta.nic.in.

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More than 58 per cent of all qualified candidates are women.

The NTA noted that women also qualified at a higher rate than men — 56.8 per cent of women who appeared qualified, compared to 55.1 per cent of men who appeared.

As per the NTA, the category-wise break-up of qualified candidates is as follows: General category, 2.91 lakh; OBC-NCL, 5.12 lakh; SC, 1.59 lakh; ST, 63,716; Gen-EWS, 95,026; PwBD, 3,666; and PwD, 303. Category-wise cut-off marks and percentiles have also been published simultaneously.

NEET-UG was conducted in 13 languages.

Divya Goyal

Divya Goyal is a Principal Correspondent at The Indian Express, based in Ludhiana (Punjab). She is widely recognized for her human-interest storytelling and in-depth investigative reporting on social and political issues in the region. Professional Profile Experience: With over 13 years in journalism, she joined The Indian Express in 2012. She previously worked with Hindustan Times. Education: A gold medalist in English Journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), Delhi. Core Beats: She covers a diverse range of subjects, including gender issues, education, the Sikh diaspora, heritage, and the legacy of the Partition. She has also reported on minority communities in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Awards and Recognition Divya has earned significant acclaim for her sensitivity toward gender and social disparities: Laadli Media Award (2020): For her investigative report "Punjab: The Invisible Drug Addicts," which exposed the gender disparity in treating women addicts. Laadli Media Award (2023): For a ground report on the struggles of two girls who had to ride a boat to reach their school in a border village of Punjab. Signature Style Divya is known for "humanizing the news." Rather than just reporting on policy, she often focuses on the individuals affected by it—such as students dealing with exam stress, farmers struggling with diversification, or families impacted by crime. Her work often bridges the gap between West (Pakistan) and East (India) Punjab, exploring shared heritage and common struggles. X (Twitter): @DivyaGoyal_ ... Read More

Vidheesha Kuntamalla

Vidheesha Kuntamalla is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express, based in New Delhi. She is known for her investigative reporting on higher education policy, international student immigration, and academic freedom on university campuses. Her work consistently connects policy decisions with lived realities, foregrounding how administrative actions, political pressure, and global shifts affect students, faculty, and institutions. Professional Profile Core Beat: Vidheesha covers education in Delhi and nationally, reporting on major public institutions including the University of Delhi (DU), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Jamia Millia Islamia, the IITs, and the IIMs. She also reports extensively on private and government schools in the National Capital Region. Prior to joining The Indian Express, she worked as a freelance journalist in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh for over a year, covering politics, rural issues, women-centric issues, and social justice. Specialisation: She has developed a strong niche in reporting on the Indian student diaspora, particularly the challenges faced by Indian students and H-1B holders in the United States. Her work examines how geopolitical shifts, immigration policy changes, and campus politics impact global education mobility. She has also reported widely on: * Mental health crises and student suicides at IITs * Policy responses to campus mental health * Academic freedom and institutional clampdowns at JNU, South Asian University (SAU), and Delhi University * Curriculum and syllabus changes under the National Education Policy Her recent reporting has included deeply reported human stories on policy changes during the Trump administration and their consequences for Indian students and researchers in the US. Reporting Style Vidheesha is recognised for a human-centric approach to policy reporting, combining investigative depth with intimate storytelling. Her work often highlights the anxieties of students and faculty navigating bureaucratic uncertainty, legal precarity, and institutional pressure. She regularly works with court records, internal documents, official data, and disciplinary frameworks to expose structural challenges to academic freedom. Recent Notable Articles (Late 2024 & 2025) 1. Express Investigation Series JNU’s fault lines move from campus to court: University fights students and faculty (November 2025) An Indian Express investigation found that since 2011, JNU has appeared in over 600 cases before the Delhi High Court, filed by the administration, faculty, staff, students, and contractual workers across the tenures of three Vice-Chancellors. JNU’s legal wars with students and faculty pile up under 3 V-Cs | Rs 30-lakh fines chill campus dissent (November 2025) The report traced how steep monetary penalties — now codified in the Chief Proctor’s Office Manual — are reshaping dissent and disciplinary action on campus. 2. International Education & Immigration ‘Free for a day. Then came ICE’: Acquitted after 43 years, Indian-origin man faces deportation — to a country he has never known (October 2025) H-1B $100,000 entry fee explained: Who pays, who’s exempt, and what’s still unclear? (September 2025) Khammam to Dallas, Jhansi to Seattle — audacious journeys in pursuit of the American dream after H-1B visa fee hike (September 2025) What a proposed 15% cap on foreign admissions in the US could mean for Indian students (October 2025) Anxiety on campus after Trump says visas of pro-Palestinian protesters will be cancelled (January 2025) ‘I couldn’t believe it’: F-1 status of some Indian students restored after US reverses abrupt visa terminations (April 2025) 3. Academic Freedom & Policy Exclusive: South Asian University fires professor for ‘inciting students’ during stipend protests (September 2025) Exclusive: Ministry seeks explanation from JNU V-C for skipping Centre’s meet, views absence ‘seriously’ (July 2025) SAU rows after Noam Chomsky mentions PM Modi, Lankan scholar resigns, PhD student exits SAU A series of five stories examining shrinking academic freedom at South Asian University after global scholar Noam Chomsky referenced Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an academic interaction, triggering administrative unease and renewed debate over political speech, surveillance, and institutional autonomy on Indian campuses. 4. Mental Health on Campuses In post-pandemic years, counselling rooms at IITs are busier than ever; IIT-wise data shows why (August 2025) Campus suicides: IIT-Delhi panel flags toxic competition, caste bias, burnout (April 2025) 5. Delhi Schools These Delhi government school grads are now success stories. Here’s what worked — and what didn’t (February 2025) ‘Ma’am… may I share something?’ Growing up online and alone, why Delhi’s teens are reaching out (December 2025) ... Read More

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