- Thursday, April 25, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
NINE of the 11 finalists for this year’s US Spelling Bee contest are Indian-Americans, reflecting the kind of dominance that young children from the small ethnic community have had on the prestigious and demanding endurance test for more than a decade now.
The 11 finalists are Roy Seligman, 12, from Nassau, The Bahamas; Bhavana Madini, 13, from New York; Sreethan Gajula, 14, from Charlotte, North Carolina; Ashrita Gandhari, 14, from Leesburg, Virginia; Avani Joshi, 13, from Illinois; Zaila Avant-garde, 14, from New Orleans; Vivinsha Veduru, 10, from Texas; Dhroov Bharatia, 12, from Dallas; Vihaan Sibal, 12, from Texas; Akshainie Kamma, 13, from Texas and Chaitra Thummala, 12, from San Francisco.
The finalists will compete for the championship title during the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee Finals on July 8, a statement announced on Monday (28). During the in-person finals, the Bee can activate a spell-off if needed. The spell-off would be activated in a traditional, one-person, one-word round, the statement added.
“We are honoured to introduce our 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee Finalists. Round after round, this group of spellers proved their mettle, and we look forward to seeing them show off their knowledge and hard work as they square off against the dictionary on the national stage,” Dr J Michael Durnil, executive director of the Bee, said.
“Congratulations to all of this year’s 209 national qualifiers – they’ve persevered over a year that has been challenging in many ways, and our team is proud to have witnessed their journey,” he said.
The National Bee is a test as well as a nerd spelling match and spellers spend months for its preparations. The final rounds of this year’s contest will take place in person at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney’s World Resort near Orlando, Florida, and will be broadcast live in prime time on ESPN2.
Indian-Americans have been dominating the Spelling Bee contest over the past 20 years. In 2019, there were eight co-champions, seven of whom belonged to the ethnic minority community. Since 1999, the Spelling Bee contest has seen 26 Indian-American champions. The contest was cancelled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
