Headlines
Indian-origin boy wins 'The Great Australian Spelling Bee'
Sydney, Sep 9
A nine-year-old Indian-origin boy
has been named as Australia's best speller after he won the first
edition of "The Great Australian Spelling Bee" contest, the media
reported on Wednesday.
Anirudh Kathirvel claimed the prize after
he rightly spelled words such as exorbitant, continuum, Guernsey,
ricochet and camaraderie during the competition on September 7, Herald
Sun newspaper reported.
Kathirvel beat his five opponents
Harpita, Harrison, Marko, Mica and Grace for the title and 50,000
Australian dollars ($35,000) education scholarship.
In the first
challenge, Speed Spell, a fast-paced spelling bee, another Indian-origin
participant Harpita and Marko were knocked out.
The next round saw Harrison and Mica losing, sending Kathirvel and Grace to the final round.
After a tense fight, Kathirvel came out on top after Grace stumbled on the word "ratatouille".
"I need to rub my eyes and see if this is a dream! Rub, rub, rub - nope!" Kathirvel exclaimed.
"He
is a very down-to-earth boy," Kathirvel's mother Sujatha said, adding:
"All the children on the show were very supportive of each other even
though they were competing. They have become good friends."
Kathirvel said Albert Einstein is his hero and dubbed the competition as "nerve-racking".
"I was nervous at first but I knew that nervousness would only make me let myself down so I pushed it away," he said.