Bhubaneswar: In a rare display of sibling bond taking precedence over personal ambition, a twin brother from Odisha has chosen to forgo a highly coveted Computer Science Engineering (CSE) seat at IIT Bombay.
Instead, he has opted to study alongside his twin brother at IIT Madras, ensuring their lifelong academic partnership remains unbroken.
Identical twins Mahroof Ahmed Khan and Masroor Ahmed Khan from Bhubaneswar, recently emerged as top rankers in the prestigious JEE Advanced 2026 examination after spending three intensive years preparing in the coaching hub of Kota. Maharuf secured an exceptional All India Rank (AIR) 32 and Masroor AIR 169.
With an AIR 32, Mahroof was comfortably guaranteed admission into the CSE programme at IIT Bombay, widely considered the most sought-after engineering course in India. However, because Masroor’s rank made it difficult to secure a spot in the same programme at the Bombay campus, Mahroof made the unexpected decision to step down from the opportunity. The twins are now preparing to enrol in Computer Science at IIT Madras, where both can study together.
An Unbreakable Academic Partnership
The brothers credit their outstanding success to their unique dynamic. Rather than succumbing to the high-pressure rivalry typical of competitive coaching environments, they functioned as teammates. “There was a very healthy competition between us. We used to explain weak topics to each other and clear doubts together. Many times, there was no need to ask a teacher because we would work out the solutions ourselves,” Mahroof told reporters.
The twins maintained a remarkably disciplined routine in Kota, attending five hours of coaching classes daily, followed by an hour of clearing doubts and an additional six hours of self-study. To balance the intense mental strain, they also allocated an hour every day to play badminton together and ensured they got seven hours of sleep.
Both have secured 285 marks each in Joint Entrance Examination – Main (JEE Main) 2026, earning an identical 99.9984543 percentile. They appeared the exam in the same shift and scored the same. Their percentiles matched and their academic trajectory too mirrors one another.
