Ludhiana: Aryan Gupta, a Punjab teenager from this city, has secured the country’s top medical rank after a crucial retest paved the way for his oncology dream.He scored 715 out of 720 marks in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG) to share the All India Rank 1 (AIR-1) with Haryana’s Panshul Banal. But for Gupta, the result is the culmination of a childhood ambition to treat cancer patients.“I have wanted to help cancer patients since the third grade,” Gupta said. “It feels like I have finally built the bridge to that goal.”To prepare for the exam, Gupta said he studied up to 17 hours a day. He plans to pursue his medical degree at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi.The breakthrough came after a disappointing initial examination, claims his father, Dr Sachin Gupta.“Four of his questions did not go well in the previous examination, but this retest turned out to be a golden opportunity,” Dr Gupta said, noting the family was having dinner when the National Testing Agency declared the results. “This time, he was only unsure about a single question.”The Gupta family is no stranger to medical success. Gupta’s mother, gynecologist Dr Reenu Gupta, said her older son, Aditya, had secured rank 54 in the previous year’s examination. “I started crying the moment my family confirmed he had topped the exam,” she said. “He has made us all proud.”
