Roshan bint Raheem
Washington: Six Indian-origin students are among the eight participants who won the prestigious 92nd Scripps National Spelling Bee competition which took place at the Gaylord National Resort in National Harbor, Maryland.
Each winner will be taking home more than $50,000 in cash and prizes, after defeating over 565 other contestants.
The 565 contestants ranged in age from 7 to 14 years and came from across the US and other countries, including Canada, Ghana, and Jamaica.
It is for the first time in the 94-year-old history of the competition that more than two co-champions have been named.
Following are the Indian-origin winners:
Rishik Gandhasri, 13, California; Saketh Sundar, 13, Maryland; Shruthika Padhy, 13, New Jersey; Sohum Sukhatankar, 13, of Texas; Abhijay Kodali, 12, of Texas and; Rohan Raja, 13, Texas.
Christopher Serrao, 13, of New Jersey and Erin Howard, 14, of Alabama were named as co-champions, The Washington Post reported on Friday.
The National Bee is a high-profile, high-pressure endurance spelling match for which spellers spend months preparing for it.
“We do have plenty of words remaining on our list, but we’ll soon run out of words that can possibly challenge you,” Jacques Bailly, the event’s pronouncer, said.