Indian-American Kids Dominate Spelling Bee Competition Again!

 

Once again, 10 out of the 12 finalists in the 2022 Scripps National Spelling Bee were Indian-American kids. The most popular trophy of spelling bee competitions has been going to Indian-American kids for more than 20 years. Like many previous years, this year, too, it was Harini Logan, a 14-year-old middle school student from Texas, who became the champion of the Scripps National Spelling Bee competition, defeating 234 spellers from all parts of the USA.

The remaining 11 finalists included: Sahasrad Sathish from Illinois, Ekansh Rastogi from Florida, Vikram Raju from Colorado, Abhilash Patel from New York, Sahana Srikanth from Ohio, Nitya Kathiravan from New Jersey, Vihaan Sibal from Texas, Saharsh Vuppala from Washington, and Shijay Sivakumar from Texas.

The competition was suspended for the last couple of years due to the Covid pandemic. This year it took place in a new format, with preliminary rounds online and the final round taking place at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Florida on June 2, 2022. The winner was decided through a spell-off — the first of its kind in the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Harini spelled 21 of the 26 words in the stipulated 90 seconds in the final round.  The 8th grade student from Montessori School of San Antonio expressed her overwhelming joy at the achievement. She received a trophy and cash prize worth $50,000 as the winner.

Vikram Raju, a 12-year-old student from Denver, Colorado, finished second and took home $25,000. In third place was 13-year-old Vihaan Sibal from Texas receiving $15,000, followed by another 13-year-old Saharsh Vuppala from Washington receiving $10,000, and one more 13-year-old Surya Kapu from Utah who placed fifth and received $5,000.

For Harini, it was her fourth time participating in the competition. Harini placed 31st in 2021, 30th in 2019, and 323rd in 2018. It’s been quite a journey for this avid reader who did not give up after failing to make it to the finals in three prior appearances.

Harini received congratulations from a variety of people and places, including US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, an Indian American raised in South Florida, who tweeted, “Congratulations Harini! We are so proud of you!”

During the vocabulary round of the spelling bee, Harini defined the word “pullulation” as the nesting of mating birds, but the judges said the correct answer was the swarming of bees. Thus, she was eliminated from the competition. “My heart stopped for a second,” Harini said. A few minutes later, the judges decided to change their decision. The head judge Mary Brooks explained that “The answer you gave to that word is considered correct, so we are going to reinstate you.” This put Harini back on stage with the three remaining contestants.

Indian-American children have been dominating the Scripps National Spelling Bee competition for more than 20 years. Their aptitude for spelling and hard work along with proper guidance from their parents has created considerable success.  The journey to victory for Indian-American kids began in 1985 with Balu Natarajan winning the championship for the first time. The 13-year-old boy from Chicago was overjoyed to see the pleasure and excitement of the Indian community as a result of his win.

Rageshree Ramachandran was the champion in 1988. As a good student throughout her life, she is now a resident in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of California with PhD and MD degrees. In 2003, Sai Gunturi from Texas took home the title and said that all the members of her family always asked about her spelling, which made her continue to maintain her strength in spelling.  Anurag Kashyap from San Diego became the champion in 2005. As an adult, he has returned to professional quizzing and recently became the champion of Mimir’s Well Carnation championship in May 2022.

In 2008, Sameer Mishra represented the Indian-American community with the victory. The runner-up, Sidharth Chand, was also an Indian American. Kavya Shivashankar became the champion in 2009. She heavily relied on visual memory of spellings and employed the habit of writing words on her palm. Eighth grader Anamika Veeramani won the title in 2010. Two 14-year-old Indian Americans, Sukanya Roy from Pennsylvania and Snigdha Nandipati from San Diego became champions in 2011 and 2012, respectively. In 2013, the top three contestants were Indian Americans with Arvind Mahankali taking the title.

In 2014, history was made when, in the 52 years of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, 14-year-old Sriram J Hathwar from New York and 13-year-old Ansun Sujoe from Texas became the first-ever joint champions. The 2015 competition also witnessed co-winners Vanya Shivashankar of Texas and Gokul Venkatachalam from Missouri, both Indian Americans. Similar results were repeated in 2016 when Jairam Hathwar from New York and Nihar Saireddy Janga of Austin became co-champions. Nihar, at just 11 years old, set a record as the youngest champion. In 2017, 12-year-old Indian-American Ananya Vinay won the competition. Karthik Nemmani, a 14-year-old Indian American from Texas, was the winner in 2018.

In 2019, a path-breaking record was created when 7 out of 8 champions were Indian Americans. They were Rishik Gandhasri, Saketh Sundar, Shruthika Padhy, Sohum Sukhatankar, Abhijay Kodali, Christopher Serrao, and Rohan Raja.

Now, it’s Harini’s turn to enjoy the success in the oldest educational program. Launched in 1925, the Scripps National Spelling Bee Competition is considered the largest competition in the USA involving elementary and middle school students. It was Harini’s fourth time at the competition