Patna: Bihar made a strong impression in the NEET-UG 2026 merit list, announced late on Thursday, with four candidates from the state securing places among the top 100 ranks in the country. Ayush Bhalotia of Nawada emerged as Bihar’s highest scorer with 710 marks and an All India Rank (AIR) of 4, while Riya Ranjan secured AIR 6.Two other candidates from Bihar featured among the 138 aspirants nationwide who scored 690 marks or above. Ravi Kant Diwakar secured AIR 55, while Aditya Kumar bagged AIR 73. In the Persons with Benchmark Disabilities category, Prince Kumar emerged as Bihar’s top performer, securing AIR 3552 and finishing as the second-highest-ranked male candidate in the country.Of the 1,52,924 candidates who had registered in Bihar, 1,40,079 appeared for the examination and 68,968 qualified, taking the state’s success rate to a little over 49%.For Ayush’s family, the result surpassed even their expectations. His father, Sunil Kumar Bhalotia, and mother, Kiran Bhalotia, said they had expected him to perform well because of the effort he had put in over the past year, but an AIR 4 came as a surprise.Kiran recalled the strict routine the family followed during his preparation. “Once Ayush went to sleep, we would keep track of the time and wake him up exactly after eight hours so that the rest of his day could go into coaching and self-study,” she said.Ayush, who prepared for the examination in Kota, admitted that the uncertainty surrounding NEET had affected him mentally. “There was pressure at times, but my family kept motivating me,” he said.He had expected lower marks in the original examination, which was later cancelled, but the re-examination worked in his favour. “The second paper was more difficult, which meant a higher cutoff and a better opportunity for students who were well prepared. He ended up scoring 710 out of 720,” Sunil said.Ayush now hopes to secure admission to AIIMS Delhi through the counselling process.Riya, who is from Patna, emerged as one of the country’s top performers with AIR 6 and a percentile score of 99.99965. She also became the second-highest-ranked female candidate in India this year.Ravi Kant Diwakar of Danapur secured AIR 55 with 695 marks and a percentile of 99.9959998. Much of his preparation strategy came from his elder brother, Nishikant, a third-year MBBS student at Patna Medical College and Hospital.“He shared tips, tricks and guided me throughout the preparation,” Ravi Kant said.His father, Ramchandra Ram, said his son studied for 14 to 15 hours every day in the months leading up to the examination. Nishikant said Ravi Kant had always wanted to become a doctor and remained disciplined with online classes, revision and mock tests.Aditya Kumar of Begusarai also scored 695 marks and secured AIR 73 with a percentile of 99.9959998. He said the re-examination proved beneficial despite extending the preparation period.“The only drawback was the boring revision of the same syllabus repeatedly. But the tougher paper worked in favour of students like me because it created better differentiation,” he said.Aditya now hopes to pursue neurosurgery at AIIMS Rishikesh.Prince Kumar, who secured AIR 3552 with a percentile of 99.82144, emerged as Bihar’s standout performer in the Persons with Benchmark Disabilities category, finishing as the country’s second-highest-ranked male candidate.
