South Asian duo shares US Spelling Bee trophy
Print Edition
TWO young American teenagers of South Asian heritage made spelling history on Thursday when they became the first co-winners of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in more than half a century.
Ansun Sujoe, 13, and Sriram Hathwar, 14, hoisted the glittering gold cup together after they saw off 10 other finalists before taking turns to exhaust the competition’s demanding word list.
In the nail-biting finale, Hathwar correctly spelled stichomythia, meaning a dialogue of altercation in Greek drama.
Then Sujoe stepped up to the microphone and learned he and Hathwar would be co-champions if he nailed the last word of the night.
He did. It was feuilleton, a noun for a newspaper supplement, which he spelled flawlessly despite admitting later that he’s sometimes uncomfortable with French-based words.
“Correct,” said official pronouncer Jacques Bailly, a classics professor and 1980 bee champion, triggering a shower of confetti and a standing ovation from the ballroom crowd in the Gaylord resort in National Harbor outside Washington.
The first joint champions since 1962 will each take home their own trophy cups as well as more than US$30,000 in cash prizes, savings bonds and reference works.
The boys are also the seventh and eighth youngsters of South Asian heritage since 2008 to conquer the National Spelling Bee, an American institution since the 1920s.
“I try to study as hard as I can. I try to be true to myself (and) hope for the best,” said Hathwar, who wore a small American and Indian flag button on his white polo shirt.
It was his fourth time at the National Spelling Bee. He was third last year and he once produced a TEDx talk on his competitive spelling experiences.
“What do I do next? Get back to normal stuff,” added Sujoe, sporting a snappy red bow tie. He now expects to start coaching his younger sister so that she can follow in his footsteps.
Sujoe, whose interests include programming robots and helping out at a senior citizens’ home, also competed last year. Champions cannot return to future National Spelling Bees.
This year’s 281 contestants, aged 8 to 15, hailed from all 50 states plus the Bahamas, Canada, China, Ghana, Jamaica, Japan and South Korea as well as schools in Europe for US military families.
Last year, Arvind Mahankali, a 13-year-old New Yorker who placed third in 2011 and 2012, won top honors when he correctly spelled knaidel — a kind of dumpling — after a grueling 2.5-hour elimination final.
Of the 12 finalists this year, four were girls, and six hailed from families with South Asian roots — a reflection of the popularity of competitive spelling among Indian immigrants.
Many of the winning words over National Spelling Bee history have taken their place in everyday English, such as condominium (1956), catamaran (1959), chihuahua (1967) and croissant (1970).
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
