Sangrur/Patiala, June 15 -- Keshav Mittal, 17, from Tapa town in Punjab's Barnala district secured all-India rank (AIR) 7 in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) UG, scoring 680 marks out of a total of 720, the National Testing Agency (NTA) announced on Saturday. This was his first attempt at the medical entrance exam that the NTA conducts every year and he has emerged as the highest scorer from Punjab. Keshav, who studied at DM Public Senior Secondary School, Karar Wala, Bathinda district, undertook coaching at a private institute in Chandigarh, where he maintained a study routine of eight to nine hours daily. His father, Dr Prabodh Mittal, is a homeopathic doctor in Tapa, while his mother, Sunita, is a homemaker. "We were expecting he would be in the first 100, but Keshav has scored beyond our expectations to make it to the top 10. He will study in one of the best institutes in the country. He ensured adequate sleep and limited smartphone use to about 30 minutes a day," his father said. Mohammad Sameer, who wants to study at AIIMS and specialise in neurology said he balanced his NEET preparation with 8-10 hours of intensive study daily. Apart from NEET, Sameer also secured 98.15 percentile in JEE (Main). He scored 662 marks out of 720. A student of Delhi Public School, Patiala, Sameer credits his success to staying optimistic and consistently following the guidance of his teachers. "Family has been my biggest inspiration," he said. His father, Sabar Mohammad, runs a chemist shop in Malerkotla and his mother, Seema, is a homemaker. "My goal was always clear. I wanted to study at AIIMS, and that dream kept me going," he said. A student of Delhi Public School, Patiala, Naveen secured 49th rank scoring 655 marks out of 720. "My focused and disciplined approach helped me achieve this rank," Naveen said adding that during his 8-10 hours daily study routine, he focused on "quality over quantity." His mother is a government school teacher in Samana, and his father, Dalip Mittal, works in the treasury department. Naveen shared that cricket was his favourite pastime and watching IPL matches helped him relax during study breaks. Rajasthan's Mahesh Kumar topped the exam, while Madhya Pradesh's Utkarsh Awadhiya bagged the second rank. More than 12.36 lakh candidates out of 22.09 lakh test takers qualified the exam. The number is down from last year's 13.15 lakh qualifying candidates. However, the number of test takers was also higher last year at over 23.33 lakh. The maximum qualifying candidates are from Uttar Pradesh (over 1.7 lakh), followed by Maharashtra (over 1.25 lakh) and Rajasthan (over 1.19 lakh). A total of 1,08,000 seats are available for the MBSS course - approximately 56,000 in government hospitals and about 52,000 in private colleges. Admissions to undergraduate courses in dentistry, Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha also utilise NEET results for admission....