Record 7 Indian-origin students, 1 American win US National Spelling Bee
Washington: A record seven Indian-origin students and one American have won the prestigious 2019 Scripps National Spelling Bee, taking home more than USD 50,000 in cash and prizes, after defeating over 550 other contestants in an unprecedented competition.
It is the first time in the 94-year history of the contest that more than two co-champions have been named.
Rishik Gandhasri, 13, of California; Saketh Sundar, 13, of Maryland; Shruthika Padhy, 13, of New Jersey; Sohum Sukhatankar, 13, of Texas; Abhijay Kodali, 12, of Texas; Rohan Raja, 13, of Texas; Christopher Serrao, 13, of New Jersey and Erin Howard, 14, of Alabama were named as co-champions.
Each will receive the full winner's prize of USD 50,000 in cash.
The six boys and two girls combined to spell the final 47 words correctly over five consecutive perfect rounds in the most extraordinary ending of the competition.
The competition, broadcast nationally on ESPN, took place at the Gaylord National Resort in National Harbor, Maryland.
It kicked off Tuesday with its biggest field ever. The 565 contestants ranged in age from 7 to 14 and came from across the US and several other countries, including Canada, Ghana and Jamaica.
"Champion spellers, we are in uncharted territory," official pronouncer Jacques Bailly said.
"We do have plenty of words remaining on our list, but we'll soon run out of words that can possibly challenge you, the most phenomenal assemblage of super spellers in the history of this competition," Bailly said.
The final words spelled correctly by the co-champions include auslaut by Gandhasri, erysipelas by Howard, bougainvillea by Sundar, aiguillette by Padhy, pendeloque by Sukhatankar, palama by Kodali, cernuous by Serrao and odylic by Raja, ESPN reported.
The majority of the spellers had personal coaches, and 13 of the 16 used word lists and study materials compiled by ex-spellers Shobha Dasari and her younger brother, Shourav, it said.
The National Bee is a high-profile, high-pressure endurance test as much as a nerd spelling match and spellers spend months preparing for it.
Last year, 14-year-old Indian-American Karthik Nemmani won the National Spelling Bee, taking home more than USD 42,000 in cash and prizes. He correctly spelt "koinonia" to become the 14th Indian-American champion in 11 consecutive years.
In 2017 also, an Indian-American girl, Ananya Vinay, won the title. From 2014-2016, the bee ended with co-champions.
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Make arrangements to deal with incidents of fire, water shortage: Official in HP's Hamirpur
Hamirpur (HP) (PTI): The deputy commissioner of Hamirpur district in Himachal Pradesh has directed officials to make arrangements for dealing with incidents of fire, water shortage, drought conditions, water-borne diseases and other problems in the ongoing summer season.
Presiding over a review meeting on Friday evening, DC Amarjit Singh, who is also the chairman of the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), said the weather conditions in Hamirpur are normal so far, but arrangements should be made in advance in case the heat increases and there is no rain, officials said on Saturday.
Singh asked officials of the jal shakti, fire, agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, forest, health and other departments to make elaborate arrangements at the department level.
He said a notification has been issued for making those living near forests accountable for fire incidents in their vicinity. They have also been told to help authorities put off the fires.
The DC directed the jal shakti department officials to keep an eye on the sources of the drinking water schemes and the quality of the water. He said the jal shakti and health departments should regularly conduct sample-testing and chlorination of water.
Singh said the forest and fire departments should coordinate with each other to prevent incidents of forest fire and also involve the locals.
