Identical twins, identical scores 285 in JEE Main

MUMBAI/JAIPUR: In a city crowded with toppers and tight schedules, brothers Mahroof Ahmed Khan and Masroor Ahmed Khan in Kota stand out for an almost uncanny symmetry. The twins, who share the same shoe size and eyeglass power, studied together, tested together, sat the same JEE Main (Session-I) 2026 shift, and walked away with identical marks till the last digit - 285 out of 300; an NTA score of 99.998.Under NTA rules, candidates must declare if they are twins while filling out forms for the same competitive exam. Such candidates are made to take the exam in the same shift to ensure the integrity of exams like JEE and NEET. Their story began in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, and moved, like so many other JEE journeys, to Kota in 2023.

At Kota academy, twins turned every test into a private contest

Known for cracking Olympiad exams, the twin brothers hoped the citys coaching ecosystem would sharpen them for bigger tests ahead, and turned friendly rivalry into a full-time study tool.

The twins came here sharing not just classrooms and notes, but an entire rhythm of preparation. Born on May 7, 2008, they have moved in parallel lines for as long as they can remember - same school, same coaching, same ambition, said Prof Amit Ahuja, career counsellor at Allen Career Institute. Behind this effort was a decision that reshaped the familys life.

Their mother, Dr Zeenat Begum, a gynaecologist who had been working for Odisha govt since the 1990s, put her career on hold to move to Kota with her sons. For three years, she managed their routines, meals, health, and morale, becoming the quiet constant in a high-pressure environment.

Zeenat said the move to Kota was initially meant to be temporary. Both of them got selected for the International Science Olympiad in 2023, and we came to Kota in March that year, thinking we would stay for a few months till they prepared for the Olympiad exam. But after a few weeks, both said that they liked the environment and the study approach here and decided to pursue coaching for JEE, she said. When they decided to pursue a career in engineering and prepare in Kota for JEE, I left my job as I thought that if their career was made, I too could restart mine. But supporting them is important in this phase, Zeenat said.

At the academy, the twins found their competitive edge not in outpacing others, but in pushing each other. If one slipped, the other stepped in - dissecting mistakes, revising concepts, and resetting goals.

At home, the competition stayed strictly in-house. Their mother said the twins competed only as a preparation strategy, calling each other their friend and mirror. They would study and give exams together and compare their scores with each other and with their previous attempts. It helped them identify their weaknesses, and they worked to improve them. This mutual competition is their greatest strength, said Zeenat.

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