Indore Shines In Jee Main 2026: Physics Prodigy Riddhesh Bendale AIR 35, Anushka Agrawal State Girls’ Topper Amid Record Competition Surge

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Indore tightened its grip on India’s engineering map today as National Testing Agency crowned local physics prodigy Riddhesh Anant Bendale Madhya Pradesh State Topper for JEE Main 2026. Bendale, who delivered gold for India at Paris International Physics Olympiad last July, secured All India Rank 35 with near-perfect 99.9992186 percentile. Sharing spotlight is Anushka Agrawal, who clinched title of state’s highest-scoring female candidate, finalizing city’s total dominance of session one results.

High-velocity success: Riddhesh Anant Bendale:

Bendale’s transition from theoretical depth of global Olympiads to 90-question sprint of JEE Main required psychological overhaul. Recording perfect 100s in Physics and Mathematics, he proved that international expertise can scale to national speed.

Action Plan: Debriefing the state topper

Q: Riddhesh, many Olympiad winners struggle with JEE speed. How did you hunt down AIR 35?

Riddhesh: I stopped treating exam like academic test and started treating it like competitive sport. In Paris, I had five hours for three problems. Here, I had two minutes per question. I spent December through February in "speed-lock" mode, solving three mock tests daily. My goal wasn't just solving questions, but finding shortest path to answer. If a solution took more than five lines, I knew I was doing it wrong.

Q: You mention "debugging" your brain. Walk us through that.

Riddhesh: I kept "Black Book of Errors." Every time I misread "is not" for "is" or tripped over calculation, it went in. Before entering center today, I didn't revise formulas; I read my list of past failures. It kept me sharp. Logic is armor. When you trust your derivation, pressure of state ranking doesn't touch you.

Breaking the ceiling: Anushka Agrawal’s ascent:

Anushka Agrawal’s rise to female state topper has provided powerful narrative for aspiring female engineers across Central India. Aiming for Computer Science at IIT Bombay, she views current score as baseline rather than ceiling.

Strategy: Discipline over inspiration

Q: Anushka, you’ve hit top spot among girls in MP. What was moment of realization like?

Anushka: I am containing my excitement because job is half-done. I want to improve score further in second attempt. My mantra was simple: volume creates ease. I stayed in "exam mode" for six months straight. People wait for inspiration; I relied on my schedule. Whether I felt like it or not, 6:00 AM meant calculus.

Q: What’s your take on competitive "glass ceiling" in STEM?

Anushka: There is no ceiling, only noise. My advice to girls starting this journey is to stop looking at statistics and start looking at syllabus. More you practice, easier exam feels. I want to walk into IIT Bombay knowing I didn't just get in, but that I belonged at very top of list.