Mahesh Kumar from Hanumangarh, Rajasthan, has topped the NEET 2025 medical entrance exam with an impressive 99.99 percentile, scoring 686 out of 720 marks in his first attempt.
Mahesh is the son of Ramesh Kumar and Hemlata, both Grade III government schoolteachers posted in remote villages of Hanumangarh. He prepared for NEET over the past three years at Sikar, Rajasthan, which has emerged as a prominent coaching hub for medical and engineering aspirants.
"I initially wanted to prepare for the UPSC exams after Class X, but my elder sister insisted that I attempt NEET instead. So I moved to Sikar from Hanumangarh and prepared for NEET alongside my Class XI and XII studies," Mahesh said. "I couldn’t appear for NEET 2024 because I was underage. This was my first attempt."
A consistent academic topper, Mahesh admitted that the paper was tough this year, but he remained confident.
“I didn’t put myself under too much pressure. I studied for 5 to 6 hours daily, and as the exam approached, I actually reduced my study time to 4 hours,” he shared.
In addition to Mahesh, three other students from Rajasthan have secured spots in the top 15: Tanay at Rank 13, Soumya Sharma at Rank 14, and Manvendra Singh Rajpurohit at Rank 15.
