Arohi Deshpande from Pune emerged the topper among female candidates in the Joint Entrance Examination (Advanced), results of which were announced on Monday.Arohi, who secured an All India Rank of 77, said that the JEE (Advanced) is an emotional journey and it is difficult to stay on path.She told The Indian Express, “JEE is not just about studying. It’s also a mental and emotional journey. It’s difficult to keep on that path, constantly studying and doing your work diligently. You will face a lot of downs. But you don’t have to feel bad or let it affect you. Many times I got low marks in practice tests, but I used them as learning opportunities.”A big factor of support for Arohi was that her parents shifted from Pune to the coaching hub city of Kota with her after class 9, where she studied at the ALLEN Career Institute. Her father Prasad Deshpande is an IT professional and her mother Amita Deshpande is an environmental engineer, and both were able to work from home to be with their daughter.Read | JEE Advanced AIR 1 Shubham Kumar’s recipe for success: Dedication, discipline, consistencyArohi says, “Having your family with you makes it a very familiar environment. You don’t actually feel like you are somewhere else. You are just home and you are studying. I respect my friends who stay alone here for being with themselves for like 2, 3 years. Because for me, it feels difficult to even think about that.” “My focus was never to bring a specific rank. It was always to give my best performance on that day. So, whatever rank I was going to get, I was going to be happy with it,” she said. Her goal was always to crack JEE Advanced and therefore she never prepared separately for JEE Mains. Apart from studies, Arohi likes to paint, read, and listen to music.Read | ‘Register regardless of Class 12 marks’: IIT Roorkee’s message to JEE Advanced 2026 qualifiers amid CBSE OSM RowEarlier in JEE Mains, Arohi achieved 99.996 percentile. She also scored 96.7% in class 10 and 97.8% in the class 12 board examinations. She intends to choose the B.Tech Computer Science branch at IIT Bombay. Her family has now shifted to Hyderabad. Out of the 1,79,694 who appeared for the JEE Advanced on May 17, 56,880 candidates qualified the examination. A total of 10,107 of the qualified candidates are females. Zone-wise top female candidates are: IIT Bombay — Sanvi Patidar (Rank 158), IIT Delhi Arohi Deshpande (77), IIT Guwahati – Agrima Singh (1857), IIT Kanpur – Anushka Agrawal (859), IIT Bhubaneswar — Reddi Sai Sahithi (230), IIT Madras — Korukonda Sravya (111), and IIT Roorkee — Aashi (781).Soham Shah is a Correspondent with The Indian Express, based in Pune. A journalism graduate with a background in fact-checking, he brings a meticulous and research-oriented approach to his current reporting. Professional Background Role: Correspondent coverig education and city affairs in Pune. Specialization: His primary beat is education, but he also maintains a strong focus on civic issues, public health, human rights, and state politics. Key Strength: Soham focuses on data-driven reporting on school and college education, government reports, and public infrastructure. Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) His late 2025 work highlights a transition from education-centric reporting to hard-hitting investigative and human-rights stories: 1. Investigations & Governance "Express Impact: Mother's name now a must to download birth certificate from PMC site" (Dec 20, 2025): Reporting on a significant policy change by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) following his earlier reports on gender inclusivity in administrative documents. "44-Acre Mahar Land Controversy: In June, Pune official sought land eviction at Pawar son firm behest" (Nov 9, 2025): An investigative piece on real estate irregularities involving high-profile political families. 2. Education & Campus Life Faculty crisis at SPPU hits research, admin work: 62% of govt-sanctioned posts vacant, over 75% in many depts (Sept 12, 2025): An investigative piece on professor vacancies at Savitribai Phule Pune University. "Maharashtra’s controversial third language policy: Why National Curriculum Framework recommends a third language from Class 6" (July 2): This detailed piece unpacks reasons behind why the state's move to introduce a third language from class 1 was controversial. "Decline in number of schools, teachers in Maharashtra but student enrolment up: Report" (Jan 2025): Analyzing discrepancies in the state's education data despite rising student numbers. 3. Human Rights & Social Issues "Aanchal Mamidawar was brave after her family killed her boyfriend" (Dec 17, 2025): A deeply personal and hard-hitting opinion piece/column on the "crime of love" and honor killings in modern India. "'People disrespect the disabled': Meet the man who has become face of racist attacks on Indians" (Nov 29, 2025): A profile of a Pune resident with severe physical deformities who became the target of global online harassment, highlighting issues of disability and cyber-bullying. Signature Style Soham is known for his civil-liberties lens. His reporting frequently champions the rights of the marginalized—whether it's students fighting for campus democracy, victims of regressive social practices, or residents struggling with crumbling urban infrastructure (as seen in his "Breathless Pune" contributions). He is adept at linking hyper-local Pune issues to larger national conversations about law and liberty. X (Twitter): @SohamShah07 ... Read More Tags:JEE Advanced