Kota: The hands that once brushed white paint onto walls will soon hold a stethoscope. For 19-year-old Suraj Saini, cracking NEET-UG marks the end of a long struggle against poverty, family hardship and years of manual labour.Suraj, a native of Kapren town in Rajasthan’s Bundi district, cracked NEET-UG 2026 on his third attempt, scoring 583 marks and securing the 99.159 percentile. The results were declared Thursday. He secured an All India Rank (AIR) of 16,569 and an OBC rank of 7,800, paving the way for admission to a govt college.Despite family turmoil, with his father living separately, Suraj continued his education in govt schools, scoring 87% in Class 10 and 85% in Class 12. Inspired by his maternal aunt, an ANM nurse, he chose the Biology stream with the dream of becoming a doctor. But pursuing that dream meant battling financial hardship. To support his family, Suraj learnt house painting and spent school vacations and spare hours whitewashing homes to supplement the household income.Watching his mother toil in the fields from an early age became Suraj’s biggest motivation. “I wanted to pull my family out of poverty,” he said .“Due to our financial hardship, my sister had to discontinue her studies. Now, I will ensure that she resumes her education,” he added.
