When the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG) 2026 was cancelled and rescheduled, many aspirants had to restart their preparation. For 17-year-old Panshul Bansal, the second opportunity became a golden chance to improve his performance. The Delhi student eventually secured 715 out of 720 marks, sharing the highest score in the examination with Punjab’s Aryan Gupta. While Gupta bagged All India Rank (AIR) 1, Panshul was placed at AIR 2.
The NTA declared the results on Thursday, with 11.21 lakh candidates qualifying for admission to undergraduate medical, dental, AYUSH and allied courses.
Balanced routine instead of long studying period
Panshul’s preparation focused on consistency rather than long hours study sessions. According to a report by The Indian Express, his day began around 6:30 am, but he took time to relax before commencing in-depth study around 9 am. He continues to study till noon and resumes it after lunch. He also took an evening break to play outdoors and ended the day with about an hour of revision.
“I didn’t compromise on spending time with family or friends,” Panshul stated as quoted by The Indian Express. He further added that maintaining a balance helped him stay motivated throughout his preparation.
He also continued pursuing his hobbies like playing the piano, skating, outdoor games, tubing and video games, saying they helped him cope with exam pressure.
‘Mock tests show your weaknesses’
Panshul believes regular practice is more important than simply extending study hours.
“Focus on question practice. Solve as many questions as you can and keep appearing for mock tests. They show you exactly where your weaknesses are,” he stated to The Indian Express.
He mentioned that the biggest challenge was maintaining consistent scores across mock tests rather than dealing with any one difficult subject. He centred his focus on scoring steadily in Biology, Chemistry and Physics.
Panshul has always wish to become a surgeon. While he has not yet chosen a speciality, neurosurgery and cardiothoracic surgery are among the fields that interest him. On the question of where he wants to study, his answer was simple: AIIMS.
Here is the list of the top ten toppers:
| AIR | Candidate | Gender | Category | Percentile | State |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aryan Gupta | Male | General | 99.9999 | Punjab |
| 2 | Panshul Bansal | Male | General | 99.9999 | Haryana |
| 3 | Uplakshya Goyal | Male | General | 99.99985 | Rajasthan |
| 4 | Ayush Bhalotia | Male | General | 99.99965 | Bihar |
| 5 | Kudale Shravani Krishna | Female | OBC-NCL (Central List) | 99.99965 | Maharashtra |
| 6 | Riya Ranjan | Female | OBC-NCL (Central List) | 99.99965 | Bihar |
| 7 | Aryan Dubey | Male | General | 99.99965 | Uttar Pradesh |
| 8 | Geetansh Sarin | Male | General | 99.99915 | Punjab |
| 9 | Gaurav Singh | Male | OBC-NCL (Central List) | 99.99915 | Rajasthan |
| 10 | Mohanish Maruti Bhosale | Male | General | 99.99915 | Maharashtra |
NEET UG-2026 highlights
As per NTA, around 20 lakh candidates took the examination at 5,440 centres across 551 cities in India and 14 cities abroad. The exam was held in 13 languages.
The agency stated that 19 candidates scored 700 marks or above, whereas 138 candidates scored 690 marks or more. More than 93 per cent of these top scorers sat for the examination for the first time, and 99 percent were between 17 and 19 years of age. Women accounted for more than 58% of all qualified candidates.
The top rank holders are Aryan Gupta (Punjab), Panshul Bansal (Haryana), Uplakshya Goyal (Rajasthan), Ayush Bhalotia (Bihar), Kudale Shravani Krishna (Maharashtra) and Riya Ranjan (Bihar).
Among the 138 top rank holders, Maharashtra had the largest representation with 22 candidates, followed by Rajasthan (18) and Punjab (11). The NTA also mentioned that candidates qualified from all 36 States and Union Territories, with Uttar Pradesh registering the highest number of successful candidates at more than 1.7 lakh.
Candidates can download their scorecards from the official NEET website. The counselling for MBBS, BDS and allied courses will be held by the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) and representative state authorities. The NTA advised candidates to rely solely on official counselling portals and be alert for fraudulent calls or websites promising admissions or improvement in scores.