Patna: Shubham Kumar from Gaya has emerged among the country’s top achievers, securing a perfect 100 percentile in the JEE Main 2026 (Session 1) results announced by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on Monday. One of just 12 students nationwide to attain the feat—and the only one from Bihar—Shubham is now preparing for the second round of the exam likely to be held in April to further improve his score. No female candidate secured a place in the 100 percentile bracket.Shubham scored a perfect 100 marks in Physics and Mathematics and 95 in Chemistry. Determined to secure better marks in the 2nd round, he is preparing for another shot in the JEE Main. “I am pretty much satisfied with my score in my first attempt in JEE Main. But I will give it another try in the 2nd round, which will possibly take place in April this year. I am preparing for the exam with full determination,” he told this newspaper over the phone.Born to Shiv Kumar, a hardware businessman and Kanchan Devi, a housewife, Shubham will decide which IIT to opt for and the branch after his Advanced result. “Based on the score, I will decide what branch to take and where to take admission. Accordingly, I will decide what I want to be in the future. For the time being, it is ambiguous. Right now, my focus is to clear the JEE Advanced and get through my Board exam,” he said.When asked how challenging it is to focus on both competitive and Board exams, the boy replied: “I am now used to it. I only focus on studies and give my best shot. I am taking coaching classes in Kota for the last one year,” Shubham said.His sister, Priya Kumari, is a 1st-year student of BTech in Computer Science and Engineering at IIT Patna. “To some extent, I get help from my sister in my preparation for the exam,” the boy said.
