Indian-Origin Teen Won US Spelling Bee 2023

Update: 2023-06-02 10:15 IST

Dev Shah, an Indian origin teen triumphed in the most recent Scripps National Spelling Bee competition Friday night and received a $50,000 cash prize for spelling the word "psammophile" correctly. Second place went to Virginian Charlotte Walsh. In the previous 24 years, he is also the 22nd Spelling Bee champion of South Asian descent.

Psammophile, which Merriam-Webster defines as a creature that thrives in sandy environments, was Dev's winning word. Before recognizing the winning word, Shah requested all the details just to be safe, grinning slightly as if he was very certain he knew what it was.

This was Shah's third attempt with which he inscribed his victory. His two prior tries were in the years 2019 and 2021. His mother stated that Shah had been preparing for this for four years as his parents jumped on stage, clearly in tears.

Out of the 11 million people who entered the spelling bee from all around the world, he was one of the 11 finalists.

Meanwhile, eighth-grader Harini Logan from Texas won it the previous year by defeating Vikram Raju, another Indian-American.

Indian-Origin Teen Won US Spelling Bee 2023

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