NEET 2025 Karnataka topper Ruchir Gupta stunned by exam difficulty despite AIR 22

This report covers Karnataka's NEET UG 2025 results highlighting Nikhil Sonnad's near-perfect score and four students in the top 50 ranks. Despite high ranks, toppers like Ruchir Gupta reveal the exam's unexpected challenge, reflecting a 5% drop in Karnataka's counselling qualification rate.

Sources:
Times of IndiaThehinduIndianexpress
Updated 3h ago
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Sources: Times of IndiaThehinduIndianexpress
Karnataka's NEET UG 2025 results revealed a challenging exam experience for many, including state topper Ruchir Gupta, who secured an impressive All India Rank (AIR) 22 despite the difficulty.

Gupta, a student of Alpine Public School, Bengaluru, shared, "It was so hard, I couldn't digest it wasn't going as planned. In the middle of the exam, I even thought of switching to engineering... The rank of 22 was a big surprise." His mother's dream of him becoming a doctor, inspired by her own doctor parents, motivated his rigorous preparation starting from class 11.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) announced that out of 1,42,369 candidates from Karnataka, only 83,582 qualified for counselling, marking a 5 per cent drop in qualification rate to 58 per cent compared to last year's 59 per cent.

This decline represents 5,305 fewer qualifiers than the previous year, indicating the exam's increased difficulty or tougher competition.

Karnataka produced four top 50 All India rankers: Ruchir Gupta (AIR 22), Tejas Shailesh Ghotgalkar (AIR 38), and Pranshu Jahagirdar (AIR 42), all of whom demonstrated exceptional dedication.

Pranshu Jahagirdar described the exam as so tough that he entered a trance-like state to minimize negative marking, while Tejas Ghotgalkar, despite his parents being engineers, pursued medicine driven by a passion for physiology and disease research.

These results highlight the intense competition and high standards of NEET UG 2025, with Karnataka students showing resilience amid a tougher exam landscape.

"The holidays afterwards were even more stressful than the preparation stage," Gupta added, underscoring the mental strain candidates faced.

The state's performance reflects both the challenges of the exam and the commitment of its top students to pursue medical careers.
Sources: Times of IndiaThehinduIndianexpress
Karnataka's NEET 2025 topper, Ruchir Gupta, secured an impressive All India Rank 22 despite finding the exam unexpectedly difficult. With 83,582 qualifiers from 1.42 lakh candidates, Karnataka saw a 5% drop in qualification rate. Four students from the state ranked in the top 50 nationally.
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The Headline

NEET 2025 Karnataka Results and Top Rankers

Key Facts
  • The National Testing Agency (NTA) announced the NEET UG 2025 results, revealing Karnataka's student performance with 83,582 candidates qualifying out of 1,42,369, marking a 5% drop from last year.ThehinduIndianexpress
  • Nikhil Sonnad from Vijayapura topped Karnataka with an All India Rank (AIR) 17 and scored 670 marks (99.99 percentile) in NEET UG 2025.ThehinduIndianexpress
  • Four Karnataka students secured top 50 All India Ranks, including Ruchir Gupta (AIR 22), Tejas Shailesh Ghotgalkar (AIR 38), and Pranshu Jahagirdar (AIR 42).Thehindu
  • Ruchir Gupta expressed surprise at the difficulty of the NEET exam despite securing AIR 22, stating the exam was harder than expected and that he even considered switching to engineering during the test.Times of India
"It's my mother's dream that I become a doctor. Her parents are doctors, and I've seen for myself the service they do and the respect they command. For me, there's no other profession through which I can help people as much. I started preparing with Allen in class 11, but when I wrote the paper, all my hopes were shattered. It was so hard, I couldn't digest it wasn't going as planned. In the middle of the exam, I even thought of switching to engineering... The holidays afterwards were even more stressful than the preparation stage, and I ensured I was always engaged and didn't think too much about the exam. The rank of 22 was a big surprise," said Ruchir.
Times of India
Times of India
This year, four students from Karnataka made it to top 50 ranks at the All India level. Ruchir Gupta, a student of Alpine Public School, Bengaluru, has secured AIR-22, Tejas Shailesh Ghotgalkar has got AIR-38, and Pranshu Jahagirdar of Allen Career Institute, Bengaluru, has got AIR-42.
Thehindu
Thehindu
The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Saturday announced NEET UG 2025 results, wherein Karnataka registered a qualification rate of 58 per cent, a 5 per cent drop from last year.
Indianexpress
Indianexpress
Key Stats at a Glance
Karnataka qualification rate in NEET UG 2025
58 per cent
Indianexpress
Drop in Karnataka qualification rate from last year
5 per cent
Indianexpress
Nikhil Sonnad's All India Rank
AIR 17
Thehindu
Nikhil Sonnad's NEET score
670 marks
Thehindu
Nikhil Sonnad's NEET percentile
99.99%
Thehindu
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Background Context

Top Karnataka Students' Background and Preparation

Key Facts
  • Ruchir Gupta shared that his motivation to become a doctor comes from his mother and her parents, who are doctors, and he values the service and respectTimes of India
  • Tejas Shailesh Ghotgalkar, despite his parents being engineers, has a self-discovered passion for medicine, especially neuro-related disease research, and had an offer from IIT Delhi for engineering physics but chose medicine as his first choice.Times of India
  • Pranshu Jahagirdar prepared intensely for NEET by deactivating social media and minimizing distractions, describing the exam questions as very hard and requiring a strategic answering approach to maximize marks.Times of India
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