Wednesday , December 25 2024

12-year-old Indian-American wins US' prestigious National Spelling Bee trophy and $50,000

Washington: Brihat Som, the 12-year-old son of Srinivas Som, originally from Telangana and settled in the US, won the 2024 'National Spelling Bee' competition by spelling 29 out of 30 words correctly in a spelling competition held here in 90 seconds and received a prize of $ 50,000 besides the trophy. While his nearest rival Faizan Zaki got 21 out of 25 words correct, he got the second prize, $ 25,000.

Commenting on his first rank in the competition, Brihat said, “My heart was pounding fast when I heard that I have won the competition.”

National Spelling Bee organiser Adam Simpson described Brihat as having an extraordinary brain and memory.

Even before this Brihat won many competitions today, his father said that our family is a religious family, my son regularly reads Bhagavad Gita. About 80 percent of the Gita is memorized.

Before Brihat, Dev Shah won this 'B' trophy last year. In 2022, a girl named Harini Logan won this trophy. Thus, for three consecutive years, students of Indian origin won this highly coveted trophy. Indians have not only come to America to earn money, but they have also excelled in social, cultural and academic fields.