NEET topper Aryan Gupta: AIR 1 shares how tragic loss of his grandmother motivated him to aspire to be an oncologist

Aryan Gupta, the Punjab boy who secured AIR 1 in the national level medical entrance test shared the primary motivation behind his dream. NEET UG 2026 All India Rank 1, who hails from Punjab's Ludhiana, revealed that the tragic loss of his grandmother motivated him to aspire to be an oncologist.

Aryan Gupta secured an exceptional percentile of 99.9999, with a score of 715 out of 720 in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET UG) 2026 exam while Panshul Bansal from Haryana secured AIR 2 with the same percentile.

In an interview with PTI, he said, "I secured AIR 1, I scored 715 out of 720, my father and mother are doctors... I worked hard, I would not get sleep, but it is feeling surreal now, looking like a dream, everyone is happy, I studied for 16-17 hours in a day, I want to become an Oncologist, my grandmother had died from cancer, I was in third standard, then I had taken a pledge. There is so much to do in life, but I am feeling good."

Aryan Gupta's mother Reenu Gupta, elated with son's performance in the competitive exam, said, "It feels wonderful. We're on cloud nine. What could be a happier moment than this? He has worked extremely hard. He studied with complete honesty and dedication. By sincerely following his teachers' guidance, he has reached this milestone."

Reacting to Aryan Gupta's achievement, father Dr Sachin Gupta said, “My younger son, Aryan Gupta, has secured All India Rank 1, and as a parent, there can be no greater joy than this. Last year, my elder son secured All India Rank 54, which was a huge achievement for us. Inspired by his elder brother, Aryan has done even better.”

He added, "There can be no greater happiness for a parent than seeing both children excel in their studies or in any field they choose. I am over the moon. Even when I became a doctor myself, I wasn't this happy. Today, seeing my children achieve this milestone brings me even greater joy."

NTA releases NEET UG 2026 results, toppers' list

The National Testing Agency (NTA) announced the NEET UG 2026 results on Thursday night and declared that over 11.21 lakh candidates qualified for admission to undergraduate medical, dental, AYUSH and allied courses.

Uplakshya Goyal from Rajasthan occupied the third position with a percentile of 99.99985 score and was followed by Ayush Bhalotia of Bihar. The top rank amongst females was secured by Maharashtrian student Kudale Shravani Krishna who secured AIR 5, followed by Riya Ranjan of Bihar at AIR 6.

According to NTA's data, 19 candidates scored 700 while 138 students obtained 690 marks. Over 93 per cent of the 138 candidates who scored above 690 appeared for NEET-UG for the first time. As many as 1,492 candidates scored 650 or above, while 10,160 scored 600 or more. Notably, over 58 per cent of the qualifying candidates are women.