3 min readLudhianaUpdated: Jul 17, 2026 07:37 AM IST “I cried a lot the day the exam was cancelled. But the very next day, I picked up my books again because I knew I couldn’t give up so easily.” Those are the words of 17-year-old Aryan Gupta from Ludhiana, who bounced back from the biggest setback of his NEET journey to jointly secure All India Rank (AIR) 1 in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-UG) 2026. Aryan scored 715 out of 720 marks, sharing the top rank with Haryana’s Pranshul Bansal. The National Testing Agency (NTA) declared the results late on Thursday. This year’s examination had been thrown into turmoil after allegations of a paper leak and other irregularities. The exam, first held on May 12, was cancelled the same day and conducted again on June 21, forcing more than 22 lakh aspirants to prepare all over again. “It took me about a week to regain my momentum,” Aryan told The Indian Express. “Initially, it felt very difficult to start preparing all over again. But then …