Arvind Mahankali from New York has scripted history by winning the Scripps National Spelling Bee for the year 2013, becoming the sixth Indian-American to win the title in a row.
“The words were extremely hard. It means that I am retiring in a good mood,” Arvind said immediately after winning the prestigious national championship.
This is the sixth consecutive year that an Indian-American has won the prestigious national tournament, which was watched live by millions of people in the United States.
A grade eight student, Arvind, 13, loves maths and science and plans to pursue a career as a physicist.
Arvind, this year, made his fourth consecutive trip to the Scripps National Spelling Bee. He had finished ninth in 2010 and third place in both 2011 and 2012.
A speaker of Telugu and Spanish, Arvind enjoys tennis, basketball and drama, and counts Novak Djokovic and Shaquille O’Neal among his favourite athletes.
Last three contestants were Indian Americans — Pranav Shivakumar from Illinois, Sriram Hathwar from New York; and Arvind Mahankali from New York.