Indian-origin children continue to dominate the Scripps National Spelling Bee 2023 competition in the US. Dev Shah, 14, from Largo in the US state of Florida won first place in the competition by correctly spelling the 11-letter word ‘sample’.
‘Samophiles’ are plants or organisms found in sandy areas. Dev, an eighth-grade student, penned the words and won the trophy and $50,000 prize at the finals of the competition held on Thursday night in National Harbor, Maryland.
After winning the competition, Shah said, “It’s amazing…my legs are still shaking.” I have made many sacrifices in the last three months for this victory. I don’t regret it. I have got the fruits of all my sacrifices.
Before reaching the top, he used the words Bathypitometer, Tolcester, Romek, Agarus, Schistorrachis, Polyorchetics, Periosi, Enlightenment, Kokomat, etc. In the final, Dev Shah faced 14-year-old Charlotte Walsh from Arlington, Virginia. She was the runner-up.
Out of 11 finalists of the 95th National Bee Competition, 10 were of Indian origin. Shraddha Rachamreddy and Surya Kapu shared the third position with prize money of $15,000. Shah participated in this competition for the third time.
Earlier he had joined in 2019 and 2021. This competition was not organized in 2020 due to Kovid. Parents looked very emotional at Shah’s victory. Mother said that Dev Shah had been working hard for this for four years.