NDTV Asked Indian-Origin Spelling Bee Champion To Spell 4 Words. His Response

NDTV

2 days ago

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Faizan Zaki, a 13-year-old Indian-American from Texas, won the Scripps National Spelling Bee by spelling "éclaircissement." He praised his supportive parents and shared his journey, emphasising perseverance and motivation for aspiring competitors.
New Delhi:
'P-E-R-S-P-I-C-A-C-I-O-U-S'. 'S-C-H-A-D-E-N-F-R-E-U-D-E'. 'C-A-C-O-P-H-O-N-Y'. 'G-A-R-R-U-L-O-U-S'.
Faizan Zaki, an Indian-American student from Texas who recently won the Scripps National Spelling Bee championship, spelled these words effortlessly. Playing a short spelling bee on NDTV, all it took Faizan was to hear the word, understand the meaning, and spell it out.
Perspicacious means having a keen understanding of something, schadenfreude means taking pleasure in someone else's misfortune, cacophony means a harsh discordant sound, and garrulous means someone who is very talkative.
The 13-year-old champion who took home over Rs 40,00,000, a medal, and a trophy after winning the National Spelling Bee championship, told NDTV that the moment was overwhelming for him. "I was just relieved that I got my word right. At the end, when I finished my word, you could hear me gasping for air. It was a really great moment," he said.
Faizan had started participating in spelling bee competitions since his first grade.
"I started in my first grade, where I did my school spelling bee, and luckily, I won. So I decided that spelling bees are a great thing, and I wanted to do it, so I kept working harder and harder. I had my ups and downs. But finally it culminated in this, where I won," he said.
He also praised his parents for the constant support.
"My parents, other than helping me with spelling itself, were also really supportive. They were really there for me when I was unmotivated and when I didn't want to study. They kept pushing me, and they taught me how to persevere through that. So all my credit goes to them," he said.
The spelling bee champion added, "When my parents first came to the US from India, they basically had no idea what they were doing, and they were struggling. It makes me sad, so I want to give back to the community."
Faizan gave a piece of advice to other students who are participating in such competitions.
"My biggest piece of advice is stay motivated because that's what I did when I got second place last year and I kept studying harder and harder - then finally I won," he said.
The word that won Faizan Zaki championship
Faizan Zaki, a seventh-grade student at CM Rice Middle School in Texas, seemed to have a good chance at winning a few minutes before the culmination of the championship. But he rushed to spell his word before a proper explanation and got the first letter wrong in one of the rounds.
Hardly before the word "commelina" had left the pronouncer's mouth, Faizan said: 'K-A-M-"
He recognised his mistake right away.
In the last round, it came down to Faizan and Sarvadnya Kadam.
The last word that Faizan spelled correctly was 'eclaircissement' - which is defined as "the clearing up of something obscure: enlightenment." He bested Sarvadnya to win the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee on Thursday night.
Seconds after spelling the word correctly, confetti rained down on Faizan.
Organisers also congratulated Faizan's parents and his grandparents, who were watching the competition from their home in Hyderabad.
This was Faizan's fourth time participating in the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Last year, he won second place. He is the only fifth speller in Bee history to win after coming in second place the year before. He tied for 21st place in 2023 and 370th place in 2019.
30 of the past 36 champions, including Faizan, of the Scripps National Spelling Bee have been Indian American.