A 14-year-old teen of Indian origin on Thursday won the latest edition of the US Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Dev Shah won the contest after he correctly spelt “psammophile,” which refers to organisms that live in sandy areas. He was awarded a prize of $50,000 (around Rs 41 lakh).
Shah defeated Charlotte Walsh, 14, from Arlington, Virginia. Walsh, an eighth-grader, finished second after she misspelt “daviely,” a Scottish-rooted word for listlessly, in the 14th round.
“It’s surreal,” Shah said after his win, according to The New York Times. “...My legs are still shaking.”
The high-profile contest is closely followed by students and their parents across the United States and the finals are broadcast on prime time television.
The contest has largely been dominated by students of Indian descent. Members of the Indian-American community have continuously won the competition between 2008 to 2021. Of the 11 finalists on Thursday night, 10 were of Indian origin.
Also Read: In documentary ‘Spelling the Dream’, a peek into how Indian-Americans have mastered the dictionary
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