Dev Shah, Indian Origin Boy Becomes US National Spelling Bee Champion

A 14-year-old Indian American boy, Dev Shah, from Largo, Florida, won the 2023 Scripps National Spelling Bee on Thursday. He aced the 15th round of the contest’s finals by correctly spelling the word "psammophile," which refers to an organism that thrives on sandy soil. He surpassed fellow eighth-grader Charlotte Walsh, also 14 years old, from Virginia’s Arlington, who finished second in the contest.

Indian-American Wins Spelling Bee

Shah, a class eight student at Morgan Fitzgerald Middle School, swiftly and precisely spelt "bathypitotmeter" in the 14^th round of the spelling bee contest. He earned the championship title and was crowned in a hail of confetti before his parents and relatives joined him on the stage.

Shah was presented with $50,000 in cash from E.W. Scripps Co., which sponsors the spelling bee contest. He also received further monetary prizes and reference works from Merriam-Webster and Encyclopaedia Britannica.

Dev Shah was tied for 51^st place in the 2019 edition of the spelling bee and tied for 76^th place in 2021. His hobbies include reading, playing tennis, playing the cello, and solving math problems.

He was one of the 11 contestants between the ages of 11 and 14 who were promoted to the finals of this year’s spelling bee contest. He beat 220 other competitors who participated in the three-day event, which was held in National Harbour, Maryland, outside of Washington, DC.

Out of the total participants who participated in this year’s event, 94 were girls and 134 were boys. Two of the participants identified themselves as non-binary, and one of them didn’t specify their gender.

The national spelling bee contest was telecasted live, and the excitement gets heightened as the commentators describe the actions of the contestants cracking their brains to come up with the correct spelling of words that are most often extremely tricky.

The national spelling bee contest was won by Harini Logan, a 14-year-old from San Antonio, Texas, who correctly spelt 22 words in 90 seconds of spell-off. It was the first time the contest included a spell-off since its inception in 1925. The ION and Bounce networks, both owned by a Scripps subsidiary, will broadcast this year's event.

Image Credits: Hindustan Times