58% Karnataka candidates crack NEET UG 2025, Mangaluru student emerges state topper

Talking about his ‘recipe for success’, he said, “I dedicated the final two months in the run-up to the exam for mock tests. However, I believe mere mock tests will not fetch you success. It is important to get your basics right, concepts correct, and the foundation strong to face the examination. This mantra helped me crack even the trickiest of the questions, including those in Physics.”

“I feel it’s the attitude towards life. When I entered college, my aim was not to crack NEET. It was about learning concepts and getting a good grasp of the basics. As for preparing for the examination, it is important to solve random questions from multiple sources to achieve a strong grip on the basics. In fact, this is the principle I imbibed from my father,” he added.

Ruchir Gupta was the second topper (File)

Born into a family of doctors – his father is a neurosurgeon and his mother an ophthalmologist – medicine was Sonnad’s natural calling. He aims to pursue his higher education at AIIMS, New Delhi.

Ruchir Gupta secured AIR 22, emerging as the second topper from Karnataka. A student of Alpine Public School in Bengaluru, Gupta stuck to consistency and revision. Speaking to The Indian Express, Gupta said, “I never believed in rote learning. I was more inclined to revisions and focused on NCERT textbooks, which is a bible for NEET.”

“In fact, physics was the most challenging part. In the first few minutes of the examination… my thoughts were not in line. But, somehow, I managed to finish it,” said Gupta, recalling his experience at the examination centre.

Highlighting his preparation method, Gupta added, “I worked on at least 600 mock tests over the last two years and underwent rigorous practice. I never loaded myself with all the concepts in a single day. I used to stretch it out over the days. I ensured I gained conceptual clarity instead of mere textbook learning.”

Gupta shared that he is eyeing a seat at AIIMS, New Delhi.

Dignath S had an AIR of 80

Meanwhile, Diganth S from Narayana College in Kempapura got AIR 80. He also secured a KCET engineering rank of 289 and a 10,000 rank in JEE Mains. “Besides textbooks, I used to solve question papers in education apps on my mobile phone. I used to solve 50-60 problems a day,” he said.

Diganth’s mother Nagarathna told The Indian Express, “He was jovial and was never tense about examinations. He used to come back from college, watch TV, mainly IPL matches, have his dinner, and start studying only from 9 pm. He used to study for four hours.”