Ludhiana: Aryan Gupta, 17, the Ludhiana lad who topped the NEET UG-2026, scoring 715 out of 720 marks on Thursday night, comes from a family with more than 10 doctors, making the medical profession a natural choice.Aryan Gupta celebrating with his parents Dr Reenu Gupta, a gynaecologist, and Dr Sachin Gupta, an anaesthesiologist, in Ludhiana on Friday. (Gurpreet Singh/HT)However, his path to all-India rank 1 was uniquely gruelling. In his initial NEET attempt on May 3, he scored 696 marks, but exam that was eventually cancelled. “After studying continuously for two years, when you get to know that the exam has been cancelled, opening the books once again was difficult. But I looked at my peers for motivation and treated it as a second chance to do better,” Aryan said with a smile, admitting “I never expected this rank.”Even as he prepared to take the exam a second time on June 21, Aryan said: “I never thought I would become the national topper. But after coming out of the examination hall, I couldn’t stop smiling because I knew I had attempted the paper well. My father was waiting outside, and I told him that the exam had gone really well.”He said that the physics and chemistry sections were significantly tougher than expected this year, making the final result even more satisfying. “I’m proud that I handled both subjects well despite the difficulty level,” he said.Brother’s backingAryan’s success story also carries a powerful sibling connection. His elder brother, Aditya, who secured AIR 54 in NEET last year, stepped up as his ultimate mentor throughout the preparation.“It was my brother who called me while I was having dinner last night to tell me that I had secured AIR 1. I couldn’t believe it,” Aryan recalled.Giving full credit to his brother, he said, “He guided me throughout the year and called me every day. Whenever I felt low or confused, he motivated me. His support made a huge difference.”Trust in teachersYet, the journey was far from seamless. Aryan revealed that he battled periods of depression during his preparation but remained determined to achieve his goal. In the high-stakes final stretch—the last one to two months before the examination—he pushed himself to study for nearly 16 to 17 hours a day.He relied heavily on his teachers, frequently reaching out to them well past midnight. “I used to send my doubts at 1am or 2am. They always helped me. Teachers know better than students. If there is one mantra behind my success, it is to follow your teachers blindly and stay completely honest with your preparation,” he said.Aryan believes this absolute trust in his teachers is precisely what allowed him to score even higher than last year’s national topper.