Who is Karthik Nemmani? Indian-American who won National Spelling Bee Championship

Karthik Nemmani, a 14-year-old Indian-American boy won the prestigious Scripps National Spelling Bee after correctly spelling "koinonia" to become the 14th champion from the community in 11 consecutive years.

Karthik is an eight -grader from McKinney, Texas, who won the spelling competition after numerous rounds against Naysa Modi, another Indian-American student.

Karthik received $40,000 and a trophy from the Scripps Bee, a $2,500 cash prize (and a complete reference library) from Merriam-Webster, trips to New York and Hollywood as part of a media tour, and a pizza party for their school, the Washington Post reported.

The 16 finalists ranged in age from 11 to 14 and included nine girls and seven boys. The spellers came from all over the United States, plus one from Canada. And several had appeared at the national bee in previous years.

(with PTI inputs)