Update: Telugu Bidda Arvind Mahankali is 2013 Spelling Bee Champion

Here’s my prediction for the 2013 Spelling Bee contest.

If it’s not a Dum Biryani (Telugu), it’ll be an Idli-Sambar (Tamil) who will take the top honors at the 2013 Spelling Bee championship.

The 86th Spelling Bee competition will take place from May 28-30 at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, MD.

This year’s contest started with over 11 million students participating in classrooms, schools and locally-sponsored spelling bees.

Of the 11 million, 281 (the top .00026%) will compete in the national championship scheduled for next week.

Last year’s Bee champion was Telugu girl Snigdha Nandipati of San Diego, CA. Her winning word was GUETAPENS.

Of the 281 contestants vying for the top honors this year, 20 are either Tamils or Telugus.

Dum Biryani vs Idli-Sambar

8 Telugu Contestants in 2013 Spelling Bee

In the last 10 years, Indian-Americans have won the Spelling Bee on seven occasions.

Since 2008, the Spelling Champion of America has always been of Indian origin (of the five winners, three of them are South Indians).

In 2013, Tamils and Telugus seem to be dominating the list of contestants who have entered the preliminaries.

I’d be extremely surprised if a Tamil or Telugu does not win the 2013 Spelling Bee.

12 Tamil Contestants for 2103 Spelling Bee

2013 Spelling Bee – Indian Contenders

A quick glance at the contestants list shows there at least 45 students of Indian origin in the Bee fray this year.

Meghana Krishna Giri
Age, Grade: 13, Eighth Grade
School: The Donoho School, Anniston, Alabama

Chythanya Murali – Malayalee
Age, Grade: 12, Seventh Grade
School: LISA Academy, Little Rock, Arkansas

Aditya Mishra
Age, Grade: 11, Sixth Grade
School: Excelsior Elementary School, Roseville, California

Neha Konakalla – Telugu
Age, Grade: 13, Seventh Grade
School: Sam H. Lawson Middle School, Cupertino, California

Himanvi Kopuri – Telugu
Age, Grade: 12, Seventh Grade
School: Hamilton Middle School, Denver, Colorado

Keshav Ramesh
Age, Grade: 10, Fourth Grade
School: Eli Terry Elementary School, South Windsor, Connecticut

Nikitha Chandran – Tamil
Age, Grade: 13, Eighth Grade
School: Brandon Academy, Brandon, Florida

Tarun Neelavannan – Tamil
Age, Grade: 12, Sixth Grade
School: Dr. David L. Anderson Middle School, Stuart, Florida

Anchita Khurana
Age, Grade: 12, Seventh Grade
School: Scholars Academy, Thomasville, Georgia

Rohit H. Sahijwani
Age, Grade: 12, Seventh Grade
School: Delhi Public School, Tema, Accra

Meghana Kamineni – Telugu
Age, Grade: 12, Seventh Grade
School: Homer Junior High School, Homer Glen, Illinois

Pranav Sivakumar
Age, Grade: 13, Eighth Grade
School: Barrington Middle School – Station Campus, Barrington, Illinois

Ram Koganti – Telugu
Age, Grade: 13, Eighth Grade
School: Wallace Grade School, Ottawa, Illinois

Joshua N. Kalyanapu – Telugu
Age, Grade: 14, Eighth Grade
School: Tri-State Christian School, Galena, Illinois

Vanya Shivashankar – Kannadiga, sister of 2009 champion Kavya Shivashankar
Age, Grade: 11, Sixth Grade
School: California Trail Middle School, Olathe, Kansas

Tara R. Singh
Age, Grade: 8, Third Grade
School: Louisville Classical Academy, Louisville, Kentucky

Neha Seshadri – Kannadiga
Age, Grade: 12, Eighth Grade
School: F.A.I.T.H. Home School, Lapeer, Michigan

Gurjiwan Singh Chahal
Age, Grade: 14, Eighth Grade
School: Shelby Junior High School, Shelby Township, Michigan

Kuvam Nirad Shahane
Age, Grade: 13, Eighth Grade
School: Van Hoosen Middle School, Rochester Hills, Michigan

Gokul Venkatachalam – Tamil
Age, Grade: 12, Sixth Grade
School: Parkway West Middle School, Chesterfield, Missouri

Indrani Das
Age, Grade: 13, Eighth Grade
School: River Dell Middle School, River Edge, New Jersey

Roshni R. Kainthan – Tamil
Age, Grade: 10, Fourth Grade
School: Littleton Elementary School, Morris Plains, New Jersey

Ryan Devanandan – Tamil??
Age, Grade: 13, Eighth Grade
School: Sand Creek Middle School, Albany, New York

Sriram J. Hathwar
Age, Grade: 13, Seventh Grade
School: Alternative School for Math & Science, Corning, New York

Abirami Ratnakumar – Tamil
Age, Grade: 13, Seventh Grade
School: Seneca Falls Middle School, Seneca Falls, New York

Sai Vishudhi Chandrasekhar – Tamil
Age, Grade: 11, Sixth Grade
School: The Anderson School, New York, New York

Arvind V. Mahankali – Telugu
Age, Grade: 13, Eighth Grade
School: Nathaniel Hawthorne Middle School 74, Bayside, New York

Ashwin Veeramani – Tamil, brother of 2010 champion Anamika Veeramani
Age, Grade: 13, Seventh Grade
School: Incarnate Word Academy, Parma Heights, Ohio

Divya Amirtharaj – Tamil
Age, Grade: 11, Sixth Grade
School: Meadow Park Middle School, Beaverton, Oregon

Shreyas P. Parab
Age, Grade: 12, Seventh Grade
School: Northley Middle School, Aston, Pennsylvania

Aditya Mohankumar Rao – Kannadiga
Age, Grade: 12, Eighth Grade
School: Lopatcong Township Middle School, Lopatcong, New Jersey

Aparajita Rao – Telugu or Kannadiga
Age, Grade: 12, Seventh Grade
School: St. Joan of Arc School, Hershey, Pennsylvania

Ashraya Ananthanarayanan – Tamil
Age, Grade: 12, Seventh Grade
School: Spring-Ford Intermediate School, Royersford, Pennsylvania

Rahul S. Krishnaswamy – Tamil
Age, Grade: 14, Eighth Grade
School: Ashley Academy, Johnson City, Tennessee

Hrishikesh Sanjay Srinivasan – Tamil
Age, Grade: 13, Seventh Grade
School: Busan International Foreign School, Busan, South Korea

Chetan G. Reddy – Telugu
Age, Grade: 13, Eighth Grade
School: C.M. Rice Middle School, Plano, Texas

Syamantak Payra
Age, Grade: 12, 7th Grade
School: Westbrook Intermediate School, Friendswood, Texas

Shobha Dasari – Telugu
Age, Grade: 12, Sixth Grade
School: Leon Sablatura Middle School, Pearland, Texas

Swati Sharma
Age, Grade: 12, Seventh Grade
School: Saint Mary’s Hall, San Antonio, Texas

Manav A. Thadani
Age, Grade: 12, Seventh Grade
School: Antilles School, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

Vismaya J. Kharkar
Age, Grade: 14, Eighth Grade
School: Challenger School, Salt Lake City, Utah

Kirtan Dharmendra Patel – Gujarati
Age, Grade: 13, Eighth Grade
School: Lindsay Middle School, Hampton, Virginia

Yashna Rajendra Nainani
Age, Grade: 14, Eighth Grade
School: Chickahominy Middle School, Mechanicsville, Virginia

Aarohi Srivastava
Age, Grade: 13, Eighth Grade
School: Suncrest Middle School, Morgantown, West Virginia

Aisha Khan
Age, Grade: 12, Seventh Grade
School: Spring Harbor Middle School, Madison, Wisconsin

Competition Schedule

Preliminaries – Tuesday, May 29. The preliminary round will be computer-based spelling and vocabulary test. 8AM-11:45AM and 1:15PM-4:45PM.

Semifinals – Thursday, May 30 2PM-5PM ET. Spelling Bee contestants will take to the stage for the first time in the semi-finals.

Finals – Top 12 spellers will advance to the finals scheduled for Thursday, May 30. 8PM-10PM ET

ESPN will broadcast the Spelling Bee Championship Finals.

Why are Indian Kids Winning?

What SI wrote last year about the reasons behind the series of Indian Bee victories remains valid even now.

First, these kids are intense, high achievers and extremely dedicated in their mission. They spend countless hours with the dictionary, sacrificing other pleasures.

Second, in Indian families winning the Bee is a family affair with the father, mother, brother and sister pitching in to help the contestant.

Given the loose, less-binding family structure in non-Indian families, it’s hard for them to pitch in for the contestant to the same degree.

Finally, there’s the peer pressure within the Indian community.

Indian-American kids and their families see other Indian kids winning the Bee and they want to take home the cup too.

Recent Indian Champions

The Indian hold over the Spelling Bee competition is evident from the Bee Champions’ list since 2000.

2012 – Snigdha Nandipati
2011 – Sukanya Roy
2010 – Anamika Veeramani
2009 – Kavya Shivashankar
2008 – Sameer Mishra
2005 – Anurag Kashyap
2003 – Sai R.Gunturi
2002 – Pratyush Buddiga
2000 – George Abraham Thampy

Related Spelling Bee Stories

Telugu Gal Snigdha Nandipati is 2012 Bee Champion
Indian Kids Crush Competition, 20 Reach Spelling Bee 2012 Semifinals
2012 Spelling Bee – 45 Desi Kids in Race
Boring News – Indian Kid Wins Spelling Bee, Again; Sukanya Roy is 2011 Champion

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