NEET topper Aryan Gupta: AIR 1 shares how tragic loss of grandmother motivated him to aspire to be an oncologist | Today’s news
Aryan Gupta, a boy from Punjab who scored an AIR 1 in the National Level Medical Entrance Test, shared the main motivation behind his dream. The 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 become 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, while Haryana’s Panshul Bansal secured an AIR 2 with the same percentile.
In an interview to PTI, he said, “I secured AIR 1, I scored 715 out of 720, my father and mother are doctors… I worked hard, I didn’t sleep, but now it feels unreal, it seems like a dream, everyone is happy, I studied 16-17 hours a day, I want to become an oncologist, my grandmother died of cancer in one third, I made a commitment to do it.” life, but I feel good.”
Elated by her son’s performance in the competitive exam, Aryan Gupta’s mother Reenu Gupta said, “It’s an amazing feeling. We are on cloud nine. What could be a happier moment than this? He worked extremely hard. He studied with complete honesty and dedication. By sincerely following the instructions of his teachers, he reached this milestone.”
Reacting to Aryan Gupta’s achievement, father Dr Sachin Gupta said, “My younger son, Aryan Gupta, got All India Rank 1, and as a parent there can be no greater joy than this. Last year, my elder son got All India Rank 54, which was a huge achievement for us. Inspired by his elder brother Aryan, he did even better.”
He added, “There can be no greater happiness for a parent than to see both children excel in their studies or in whatever field they choose. I am over the moon. Even when I became a doctor myself, I was not so happy. Today, seeing my children achieve this milestone brings me even more joy.”
NTA released NEET UG Results 2026, topper list
The National Testing Agency (NTA) declared the NEET UG 2026 results on Thursday evening and declared that more than 11.21 lakh candidates have qualified for admission to undergraduate medical, dental, AYUSH and allied courses.
Uplakshya Goyal of Rajasthan took the third position with a percentile of 99.99985 followed by Ayush Bhalotia of Bihar. Maharashtra student Kudale Shravani Krishna secured the top rank among women, securing AIR 5, followed by Riya Ranjan of Bihar at AIR 6.
According to NTA data, 19 candidates scored 700 marks while 138 students scored 690 marks. More than 93 per cent of the 138 candidates who scored above 690 appeared in NEET-UG for the first time. As many as 1,492 candidates scored 650 or above, while 10,160 scored 600 or above. Notably, more than 58 percent of qualified candidates are women.
