US Indians sweep Spelling Bee again

Jun 01, 2013 |

Arvind Mahankali

Thirteen-year-old Indian- American Arvind Mahankali on Friday won the Scripps National Spelling Bee contest as children from the community scripted history by dominating the prestigious competition for the sixth year in a row, grabbing top three slots this year.

Arvind, from New York, won the contest by correctly spelling German word “knaidel”, which means a small mass of leavened dough, overcoming his fear of German-derived words during his past four appearances at the contest.
“The German curse has turned into a German blessing,” he said after besting eight other finalists in a nail-biting two-and-a-half hour finale started with 281 contestants from eight nations.
The bee tested brain power, composure and, for the first time, knowledge of vocabulary.
“The words were extremely hard. It means that I am retiring in a good mood,” Arvind said immediately after winning the prestigious national championship.
This is the sixth consecutive year that an Indian-American has won the contest, which was watched live by millions of people in the United States.
Arvind is also the first boy to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee since 2008. He will take home $30,000 in cash and prizes along with a huge, cup-shaped trophy.
Arvind is the eldest son of an IT consultant father and a physician mother from Hyderabad.
“At home, my dad used to chant Telegu poems from forward to backward and backward to forward, that kind of thing,” said Arvind’s father, Srinivas.
“We value language a lot. And I love language, I love English.” Arvind had placed ninth in 2010, then third in 2011 and 2012. More often, German-derived words denied him the championship.

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