Indian-American wins Spelling Bee for sixth straight year

Washington, May 31: 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.

PTI