Amid CJP protests, NEET officials say cancellation was ‘opportunity’ to perform better: ‘…best thing happened’ | Today’s news
Panshul Bansal, who secured an All India Rank (AIR) 2 in the NEET UG 2026 re-examination, recalled how he was initially “distraught” after the exam was cancelled, but later saw it as an “opportunity” to perform better.
“Conducting exams is not in your hands. So look at it this way – what happened happened for the best. Take it as an opportunity to perform even better and score higher,” Bansal said, according to news agency ANI.
Bansal’s remarks come at a time when the capital is witnessing protests demanding education reforms and the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET paper leak.
Bansal, a student of KR Mangalam World School in Greater Kailash, New Delhi, scored 715 marks in the NEET UG examination.
The original NEET UG exam for undergraduate medical admissions was held on May 3 but was canceled on May 12 following allegations of question paper leak. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is now looking into the case.
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“Crying would do no good”
“…Initially I was sad and distraught that the exam was cancelled. Then I told myself that crying won’t do any good. So I pulled myself together and continued with the routine I followed before the first NEET exam. I told myself that I should give it my all and see if God gave me an opportunity to score better because he knew I could score better. My family supported and consoled me all the time,” said Bansal.
He added: “When the paper is cancelled, you need a lot of resilience and you can’t give up. That’s important.”
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AIR 1 Aryan Gupta Message to Aspirants
Echoing similar sentiments, Aryan Gupta, who secured an AIR 1 in the NEET UG 2026 re-examination, said that his parents are his biggest source of emotional support and that he considers the re-examination as a second chance to give his best.
Sharing a message for future aspirants, he said: “To students appearing for the exam later, I would say – trust your teachers and follow their guidance because they know a lot more than you… Do your best every day and keep working with consistency and discipline. Things will work themselves out.”
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According to a Hindustan Times report, at least 11 candidates allegedly committed suicide in the 46 days between the cancellation of the NEET UG 2026 exam over the paper leak controversy and the scheduled re-test on 21 June.
Who is Panshul Bansal?
Panshul Bansal, a 17-year-old student from Haryana, bagged All India Rank (AIR) 2 in the NEET UG 2026 re-examination after scoring 715 out of 720 marks and securing a percentile of 99.9999. He got the same marks as AIR 1 Aryan Gupta but came second under the National Testing Agency (NTA) tie-breaker rules.
A student at KR Mangalam World School in Greater Kailash, New Delhi, Bansal also scored 94% in his Class 12 board exams in preparation for NEET, according to The Indian Express. His father is a businessman while his mother is a company secretary.
Who is Aryan Gupta?
Aryan Gupta from Punjab secured All India Rank (AIR) 1 in NEET UG 2026 reexamination with 99.9999 percentile. He comes from a family of medical professionals. His father, Dr. Sachin Gupta, is an anesthetist while his mother, Dr. Reenu Gupta, is a gynecologist. Several members of his extended family, including his maternal uncles, aunts and paternal relatives, are also doctors.
