CHENNAI: Venkatapathi Velayutham VA, who secured All India Rank (AIR) 12 in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG) 2026, emerged as the topper from Tamil Nadu. He was the only candidate from the state to figure among the 17 candidates from across India who scored 705 marks and above out of 720, according to the results that was released late on Thursday night by the National Testing Agency (NTA).
In all, 12 candidates from Tamil Nadu featured among the 138 candidates nationwide who scored 690 marks and above. Besides Venkatapathi, they are Srinika V (AIR 27), Sudar A M (AIR 45), Vanisha Satish (AIR 51), Sabaree G N (AIR 59), R Jaikrishna (AIR 75), Samvitha P (AIR 82), Navithana B (AIR 88), Nikhil Sivanathan S (AIR 92), Janani Swethaa D R (AIR 112), Rohit Mathew Rabindrarajan E (AIR 115) and J Jayakrishna (AIR 134).
Around 1.42 lakh candidates from Tamil Nadu applied for the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination held on June 21 at 307 centres across the state. However, attendance for the re-test dropped to around 75%, compared with about 95% in the original examination held on May 3. The June 21 re-examination was conducted after the May 3 NEET-UG was cancelled following allegations of question paper leak that affected over 22 lakh candidates nationwide.
As many as 138 candidates scored 690 marks and above, including 19 who secured more than 700 marks. A total of 1,492 candidates scored 650 marks and above, 10,160 secured at least 600 marks, and 90,780 obtained 500 marks and above. More than 93% of those who scored 690 marks and above were first-time test-takers, while 99% were in the 17-19 age group. The highest score of 715 out of 720 was jointly secured by Aryan Gupta from Punjab and Panshul Bansal from Haryana.
Of the nearly 20 lakh candidates who appeared for the examination held in 13 languages, including Tamil, 11.21 lakh qualified for admission to undergraduate medical, dental, AYUSH and allied courses. Women accounted for more than 58% of the qualified candidates. The NTA said the results were declared on schedule to ensure the medical admissions and counselling process remains on track.