11 aspirants from state among NEET-UG top 100

Mumbai/Pune: Pune's Krishang Joshi, who secured an all-India rank (AIR) of 3, and Baramati's Siddhi Badhe, with an AIR of 26, emerged as Maharashtra's top-performing male and female candidates in the NEET-UG 2025 results, announced on Saturday by the National Testing Agency. Of the 2.4 lakh aspirants from the state who appeared for the medical entrance exam—conducted for admission to MBBS, BDS, and allied health science courses—51.8% qualified, almost similar to last year's success rate.Chembur's Aarav Agrawal, with a score of 675 marks out of 720 and the 10th rank in the country, and Oorja Shah from Vile Parle, with an AIR 31, are the city toppers. There are, in all, 11 students from the state in the top 100 ranks. Many found this year's question paper to be "unusually tough" and lengthy. The highest score in this year's exam dropped to 686 from last year's 720. Keyur Cholera, coaching mentor, said cutoffs are going to dramatically drop in colleges. "Last year, Mumbai's colleges closed at 670; this year it is likely to come down to 570," he said.State topper Krishang, whose parents hail from Haldwani in Uttarakhand, hopes to get into AIIMS Delhi. Growing up in Goa, Krishang moved to Pune in Class 11 on getting selected at a coaching institute. "I was sure to get into the top 50... but AIR 3 was unexpected," said Krishang, whose mother is a homemaker and father works for New Mangalore Port Association. Krishang said he likes the medical profession as it "gives you independence, economic stability, and can serve society."Siddhi's mother, Surekha Badhe, a teacher in Baramati Municipal Council-run school, said she aimed to get 720 out of 720. "She got 665, but we are happy. Her father is a ZP school teacher.For Aarav Agrawal, the paper this year was tougher than he expected. His survival guide? Leave no topic untouched, train for every difficulty level, and embrace mock tests. Aarav plans to join AIIMS Delhi for his MBBS and strives to pursue postgraduate studies abroad. He unwinds by watching tennis and Formula 1. His father is an engineer, and his mother holds a mid-level management position. Oorja Shah (17) from Vile Parle also aims to get into AIIMS Delhi. "Physics was tougher than anticipated," she said. Her three-step survival kit: Master every NCERT line, drill MCQs, and triage the paper. Away from books, she's a trained Bharatnatyam and Western dancer. Her father runs a business and mother is a career counsellor. Umaid Khan from Nagpur stood at AIR 21. A fan of Real Madrid football club, Umaid also wishes to get into AIIMS Delhi. "My elder brother is also a doctor," he said.