I never studied for number: Meet Kabeer Chhillar, AIR 2 in JEE Advanced 2026

4 min readNew DelhiJun 1, 2026 11:27 AM IST

Shubham came to Kota as a Class 11 student two years ago and is now hoping to join IIT Bombay for BTech in Computer Science. He calls it the goal from the beginning, and now it is real.The Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, released the JEE Advanced results 2026 on Sunday night, and Shubham Kumar from the IIT Delhi zone has secured an all-India rank (AIR) 1. The 18-year-old has scored 330 out of 360 in JEE Advanced 2026, which came after he had already secured the 100th percentile in JEE Main, where he ranked AIR 6. JEE Advanced Result 2026 LiveShubham Kumar’s father, Shivkumar, runs a hardware business in Gaya, Bihar, while his mother, Kanchan Devi, is a homemaker. Born on September 20, 2008, Shubham has been an Allen Career Institute classroom student for the past two years. He moved to Kota, Rajasthan, after Class 10 to prepare for the JEE and has now emerged as the top scorer in JEE Advanced 2026. Shubham plans to pursue a BTech in Computer Science at IIT Bombay — a goal he says he set for himself at the very beginning of his preparation and has now achieved. Preparation & family “My father has worked very hard to support my preparation. Seeing his happiness was the best moment,” he said, adding that he had seen his father toiling hard between finances for the exam. As Shubham puts it, the success is ‘beyond what he had imagined’. Check qualifying marks “My father runs a hardware shop. It is not a large business, but he never once made me feel that money was a constraint. My mother managed everything at home and made sure I had no reason to worry about anything except studying,” he said. Shubham’s elder sister is pursuing BTech in Computer Science at IIT Patna, so there was already an understanding at his home of what the IIT and JEE Advanced path looks like. Decision to study in Kota Though he was aware of the happenings in Kota; however, he and his family made a deliberate decision to continue his preparation in Kota. He chose to focus on the ecosystem that has made Kota what it is, where thousands of students come here year after year because it works for them and pushes them for success.Story continues below this ad “There should be a willpower, an urge from inside that we have to do something — only then can we achieve our goal,” he said. Away from social media Shubham made a conscious decision to stay away from social media. He used his phone only to stay connected with his parents and his teachers. “Social media is a time drain, but more than that, it is a mental drain. When you are preparing for something this demanding, every hour of attention matters,” he said. JEE Advanced toppers list

4 min readNew DelhiJun 1, 2026 10:53 AM IST

His journey towards JEE Advanced topper does not start from the halls of the coaching centres, but when, after Class 10, he chose the Science stream, drawn by his curiosity for astronomy.

When IIT Roorkee declared the JEE Advanced 2026 results on late Sunday, Kabeer Chhillar secured All India Rank (AIR) 2, scoring 329 out of 360 marks — just one mark behind AIR 1 holder Shubham Kumar, who scored 330. All three top rankers — Shubham Kumar, Kabeer Chhillar, and Jatin Chahar — belong to the IIT Delhi zone, which dominated the Common Rank List (CRL) this year. For Kabeer’s family, though, the number was never really the point. JEE Advanced Results 2026 Live “We would have been happy with any rank he got; this is just a bonus,” his father Mohit Chhillar, an IIT Kharagpur alumnus, told indianexpress.com. “Our fundamentals and principles were very clear — do what you can, and do it honestly.” His mother, Priyanka Chhillar, is a private school teacher. Check qualifying marks Kabeer himself said that he never studied for the number and focused on understanding things properly. His journey towards JEE Advanced topper does not start from the halls of the coaching centres, but when, after Class 10, he chose the Science stream, drawn by his curiosity for astronomy. His father recalls a moment from Class 2 when a teacher asked Kabeer to name the second farthest star from Earth. Instead of a single answer, young Kabeer listed the ten farthest. “He’s always been like that — once he gets curious, he goes all in,” his father said. As Olympiads entered the picture alongside school, the family decided to send him to Kota to join Allen Coaching. The apprehension many parents feel about Kota’s intense environment gradually gave way as his performance improved and frequent family visits kept him emotionally grounded. JEE Advanced toppers list

A defining principle, as suggested by his father, shaped how Kabeer attempted the exam: “Do it and forget about it.” Move forward, never dwell. “That mindset helped me stay grounded,” Kabeer admits. In an interview with the news agency, PTI, he said himself “mentally very strong” and said he needed to read a text only once to have enough comprehension to recall it when required. His preparation was disciplined but not mechanical. “During self-study, I prioritise both my attention span and the quality of learning. After every test, I conducted a self-analysis and focused most intensely on the specific areas where I identified shortcomings. I fine-tuned my study strategy before every examination,” he said. Chemistry emerged as his strongest subject, and on most days, he devoted close to eight hours to studying. Read | JEE Main 2026 top scorer, represented Haryana in soccer, eyes MIT for higher studiesStory continues below this ad The journey of Kabeer Chhillar is incomplete without football. A passionate fan of the English Premier League, he has represented Haryana in several soccer competitions — a part of his life that took a back seat during the past year of intensive JEE preparation. “Football helps me reset. I definitely want it to be part of my college life again,” he said. Guitar, chess, and YouTube filled the smaller gaps. His sights are now set firmly on CSE at IIT Bombay for his undergraduate degree. Beyond that, he has his eyes on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for higher studies. A total of 1,79,694 candidates appeared for both papers of JEE Advanced 2026, held on May 17, with 56,880 qualifying for admission to the IITs and other participating institutions. Kabeer finished second among all of them. For a boy who says he never studied for the number, the number turned out to be rather extraordinary.

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