Jul 16

Jul 16 Hari Kondabolu mourns Indians losing USA Spelling Bee contest

Last week, after twelve consecutive years of wins, Indian Americans failed to win the 2021 U.S. national Spelling Bee competition.

“We Lost The #SpellingBee. I am an Indian-American & I am devastated,” tweeted Hari Kondabulu (in photo), a comedian from Brooklyn, New York.

He calls for a day of mourning:.

This year’s Spelling Bee winner is Zaila Avant-garde, the first Black American to win the title.

The 14-year-old 9th grader from New Orleans holds three Guinness world records for dribbling, juggling and bouncing basketballs. At age 11, she could divide five digit numbers by two digit numbers in her head.

Zaila hopes her win will inspire more Black Americans to take part in the bee as well as expand their interest in education, she told Good Morning America.

The annual Spelling Bee is the most popular school contest in America. As winner of the 96th bee, Zaila received a $50,000 prize..

Since 1999, Indian American students have dominated the contest and are likely to continue to do so. Some of their parents spend hours each day coaching them as well as spend thousands of dollars on word guide material and private tutors.

This year, inine of the eleven Spelling Bee finalists were Indian Americans. They are:

Dhroov Bharatia, age 12, Wilson Middle School, Texas

Sreethan Gajula, 14, Marvin Ridge Middle School, North Carolina

Ashrita Gandhari, 14, Stone Hill Middle School, Virginia

Avani Joshi, 13, Roscoe Middle School, Illinois

Akshainie Kamma, 13, Walsh Middle School, Texas

Bhavana Madini, 13, Plainview-Old Bethpage Middle School, Long Island, New York

Vihaan Sibal, 12, River Valley Intermediate School, Texas

Chaitra Thummala, 12, Gale Ranch Middle School, California

Vivinsha Veduru, 11, Bear Creek Intermediate School, Texas

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