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Business Standard
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Business Standard
Indian-American Faizan Zaki wins 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee
Faizan Zaki, a 13-year-old Indian-American student from Texas, has won the Scripps National Spelling Bee after he spelt claircissement" correctly, maintaining the dominance of the children from the community in the prestigious US competition. Zaki bested Sarvadnya Kadam to win the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee on Thursday night. A 7th-grade student at C M Rice Middle School, Zaki finished second in 2024 in a spell-off to another Indian-American Bruhat Soma. This was Zaki's fourth time participating in the Scripps National Spelling Bee. This was Zaki's fourth time participating in the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Zaki earned the prestigious title in round 21 when he correctly spelt claircissement, which is defined as the clearing up of something obscure: enlightenment. He outlasted eight other accomplished spellers to win the title on Thursday night. The culmination of the national championship came with a shock. Zaki had an earlier chance to win this year's bee, in the eighteenth round, after mistakes by two other finalists. In what could have been the last round, when there were three left, Sarvadnya Kadam and Sarv Dharavane got their words wrong. It seemed to be Zaki's big chance. But he rushed to spell his word before a proper explanation and got the first letter wrong. Hardly before the word commelina had left the pronouncer's mouth, Zaki jumped on it, saying, k-a-m He recognised his mistake right away, but it was too late. As he spelt the winning word, Zaki fell on the stage in joy as confetti rained down. I don't know what to say. I'm just really happy, he said. Organisers congratulated Zaki's parents and his grandparents, who were watching the competition from their home in Hyderabad. I can't describe it, Zaki said minutes later. It's so amazing, getting to this point. Winning? I never expected this. Adam Symson, president and CEO of the E W Scripps Company, presented the championship trophy. Faizan exemplified the determination that defines a champion, said Symson. His unwavering focus and preparation led to a well-earned victory tonight on the Bee's largest stage, he said. In this landmark 100th year of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, Scripps is honoured to celebrate Faizan's extraordinary achievement as well as the spellers throughout the Bee's history who continue to inspire millions," he said. "Their stories remind us of the shared joy in cheering for their success, reinforcing the Bee's legacy as a beloved tradition that, for a century, has championed connection, resilience and the limitless potential of young minds," Symson said. The first Spelling Bee competition was held in 1925 in Washington, DC, and only nine kids participated, according to Scripps. This year, more than 200 students competed. Zaki is only the 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. Zaki will take home USD 50,000, a medal and a trophy. He will receive a USD 2,500 prize and a reference library from the Bee's dictionary partner Merriam-Webster. Kadam of Visalia, California, placed second in the competition and will receive USD 25,000. Dharavane of Dunwoody, Georgia, will receive USD 15,000. Thirty of the past 36 champions, including Zaki, of the Scripps National Spelling Bee have been Indian American. Nupur Lala was the first Indian-American to win the competition in 1999.
CTV News
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Faizan Zaki overcomes a shocking, self-inflicted flub and wins the Scripps National Spelling Bee
Faizan Zaki, 13, of Dallas, holds the trophy after winning the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, May 29, 2025, in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) OXON HILL, Md. — Faizan Zaki's enthusiasm for spelling nearly got the better of him. Ultimately, his joyful approach made him the Scripps National Spelling Bee champion. The favorite entering the bee after his runner-up finish last year — during which he never misspelled a word in a conventional spelling round, only to lose a lightning-round tiebreaker that he didn't practice for — the shaggy-haired Faizan wore the burden of expectations lightly, sauntering to the microphone in a black hoodie and spelling his words with casual glee. Throughout Thursday night's finals, the 13-year-old from Allen, Texas, looked like a champion in waiting. Then he nearly threw it away. But even a shocking moment of overconfidence couldn't prevent him from seizing the title of best speller in the English language. With the bee down to three spellers, Sarvadnya Kadam and Sarv Dharavane missed their words back-to-back, putting Faizan two words away from victory. The first was 'commelina,' but instead of asking the requisite questions — definition, language of origin — to make sure he knew it, Faizan let his showman's instincts take over. 'K-A-M,' he said, then stopped himself. 'OK, let me do this. Oh, shoot!' 'Just ring the bell,' he told head judge Mary Brooks, who obliged. 'So now you know what happens,' Brooks said, and the other two spellers returned to the stage. Later, standing next to the trophy with confetti at his feet, Faizan said: 'I'm definitely going to be having nightmares about that tonight.' Even pronouncer Jacques Bailly tried to slow Faizan down before his winning word, 'eclaircissement,' but Faizan didn't ask a single question before spelling it correctly, and he pumped his fists and collapsed to the stage after saying the final letter. The bee celebrated its 100th anniversary this year, and Faizan may be the first champion who's remembered more for a word he got wrong than one he got right. 'I think he cared too much about his aura,' said Bruhat Soma, Faizan's buddy who beat him in the 'spell-off' tiebreaker last year. Faizan had a more nuanced explanation: After not preparing for the spell-off last year, he overcorrected, emphasizing speed during his study sessions. Although Bruhat was fast last year when he needed to be, he followed the familiar playbook for champion spellers: asking thorough questions, spelling slowly and metronomically, showing little emotion. Those are among the hallmarks of well-coached spellers, and Faizan had three coaches: Scott Remer, Sam Evans and Sohum Sukhantankar. None of them could turn Faizan into a robot on stage. 'He's crazy. He's having a good time, and he's doing what he loves, which is spelling,' Evans said. Said Zaki Anwar, Faizan's father: 'He's the GOAT. I actually believe that. He's really good, man. He's been doing it for so long, and he knows the dictionary in and out.' A thrilling centennial After last year's bee had little drama before an abrupt move to the spell-off, Scripps tweaked the competition rules, giving judges more leeway to let the competition play out before going to the tiebreaker. The nine finalists delivered. During one stretch, six spellers got 26 consecutive words right, and there were three perfect rounds during the finals. The last time there was a single perfect round was the infamous 2019 bee, which ended in an eight-way tie. Sarv, an 11-year-old fifth-grader from Dunwoody, Georgia, who ultimately finished third, would have been the youngest champion since Nihar Janga in 2016. He has three years of eligibility remaining. The most poised and mature of the final three, Sarvadnya — who's from Visalia, California — ends his career as the runner-up. He's 14 and in the eighth grade, which means he has aged out of the competition. It's not a bad way to go out, considering that Faizan became just the fifth runner-up in a century to come back and win, and the first since Sean Conley in 2001. Including Faizan, whose parents emigrated from southern India, 30 of the past 36 champions have been Indian American, a run that began with Nupur Lala's victory in 1999, which was later featured in the documentary 'Spellbound.' In honor of the centennial, dozens of past champions attended this year and signed autographs for spellers, families and bee fans. With the winner's haul of $52,500 added to his second-place prize of $25,000, Faizan increased his bee earnings to $77,500. His big splurge with his winnings last year? A $1,500 Rubik's cube with 21 squares on each side. This time, he said he'd donate a large portion of his winnings to charity. The bee began in 1925 when the Louisville Courier-Journal invited other newspapers to host spelling bees and send their champions to Washington. For the past 14 years, Scripps has hosted the competition at a convention center just outside the nation's capital, but the bee returns downtown next year to Constitution Hall, a nearly century-old concert venue near the White House. A passionate champion Faizan has been spelling for more than half his life. He competed in the 2019 bee as a 7-year-old, getting in through a wild-card program that has since been discontinued. He qualified again in 2023 and made the semifinals before last year's second-place finish. 'One thing that differentiates him is he really has a passion for this. In his free time, when he's not studying for the bee, he's literally looking up archaic, obsolete words that have no chance of being asked,' Bruhat said. 'I don't think he cares as much about the title as his passion for language and words.' Faizan had no regrets about showing that enthusiasm, even though it nearly cost him. 'No offense to Bruhat, but I think he really took the bee a little too seriously,' Faizan said. 'I decided to have fun with this bee, and I did well, and here I am.' ___ The story has been updated to correct the number of consecutive words spelled correctly by six spellers to 26, from 28, and to remove a reference to Nupur Lala being among the past champions who attended. ___ Written by Ben Nuckols, The Associated Press Nuckols has covered the Scripps National Spelling Bee since 2012.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Texas seventh-grader wins National Spelling Bee after dramatic twist left audience gasping
A seventh-grade student has won the National Spelling Bee after a dramatic twist left the audience gasping. Faizan Zaki, from Allen, Texas, clinched the title after 21 rounds of spelling with the deciding word being 'éclaircissement' - a French-derived word meaning 'enlightenment.' The 13-year-old was showered in confetti before lifting the ceramic trophy aloft. 'I don't even know what I'm going to say. I'm just really happy,' he shared. But his victory came after a dramatic twist where all three finalists misspelled their words in the same round. The rare moment led to the entire group being reinstated in the competition and set the stage for an unforgettable comeback by Faizan. The season competitor, who was the runner-up last year, had stumbled in Round 18 on the word 'commelina.' He began with 'K-A-M...' but quickly halted when he realized his error. 'Oh, okay, let me think, let me think. All the information,' Faizan said, before conceding, 'Oh, shoot.' Remarkably, his fellow finalists - Sarvadnya Kadam from California and Sarv Dharavane from Georgia - also missed their words in the same round. The shocking triple miss prompted the judges to reinstate all three contestants, eliciting excited gasps and applause from the audience at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. After the close call, Faizan approached the next rounds with renewed focus before taking home the title. Reflecting on his win, he shared: 'I really hoped I would get first. But I didn't want to say I would. The spelling bee can really be all about luck.' Faizan, who was competing against more than 240 applicants, first appeared at the Scripps national championships when he was just seven years old. He has been a regular face since - often practicing up to eight hours a day, focusing on vocabulary and speed. Faizan, who was competing against more than 240 applicants, first appeared at the Scripps national championships when he was just seven years old 'From first grade to fourth grade, I thought I'll just do this for fun,' Faizan said. 'But then since I got second, a lot of people were expecting me to get first this year. 'And I was too engrossed in the whole process of studying to really think about if I actually win.' After his recent win, Faizan is now the 17th champion from Texas - which is more than any other state.
CBC
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBC
'He's the GOAT,' proud father says after 13-year-old Texan wins Scripps spelling bee with 'eclaircissement'
Faizan Zaki's enthusiasm for spelling nearly got the better of him. Ultimately, his joyful approach made him the Scripps National Spelling Bee champion. The favourite entering the bee after his runner-up finish last year — during which he never misspelled a word in a conventional spelling round, only to lose a lightning-round tiebreaker that he didn't practice for — the shaggy-haired Faizan wore the burden of expectations lightly, sauntering to the microphone in a black hoodie and spelling his words with casual glee. What was the winning word at this year's Scripps National Spelling Bee? 2 hours ago Duration 0:58 Throughout Thursday night's finals, the 13-year-old from Allen, Texas, looked like a champion in waiting. Then, he nearly threw it away. But even a shocking moment of overconfidence couldn't prevent him from seizing the title of best speller in the English language. With the bee down to three spellers, Sarvadnya Kadam and Sarv Dharavane missed their words back-to-back, putting Faizan two words away from victory. The first was "commelina," but instead of asking the requisite questions — definition, language of origin — to make sure he knew it, Faizan let his showman's instincts take over. "K-A-M," he said, then stopped himself. "OK, let me do this. Oh, shoot!" "Just ring the bell," he told head judge Mary Brooks, who obliged. "So, now you know what happens," Brooks said, and the other two spellers returned to the stage. Later, standing next to the trophy with confetti at his feet, Faizan said: "I'm definitely going to be having nightmares about that tonight." Even pronouncer Jacques Bailly tried to slow Faizan down before his winning word, "eclaircissement," but Faizan didn't ask a single question before spelling it correctly, and he pumped his fists and collapsed to the stage after saying the final letter. The bee celebrated its 100th anniversary this year, and Faizan may be the first champion who's remembered more for a word he got wrong than one he got right. "I think he cared too much about his aura," said Bruhat Soma, Faizan's buddy who beat him in the "spell-off" tiebreaker last year. Faizan had a more nuanced explanation: After not preparing for the spell-off last year, he overcorrected, emphasizing speed during his study sessions. Although Bruhat was fast last year when he needed to be, he followed the familiar playbook for champion spellers: asking thorough questions, spelling slowly and metronomically, showing little emotion. Those are among the hallmarks of well-coached spellers, and Faizan had three coaches: Scott Remer, Sam Evans and Sohum Sukhantankar. None of them could turn Faizan into a robot on stage. "He's crazy. He's having a good time, and he's doing what he loves, which is spelling," Evans said. Said Zaki Anwar, Faizan's father: "He's the GOAT. I actually believe that. He's really good, man. He's been doing it for so long, and he knows the dictionary in and out." A thrilling centennial After last year's bee had little drama before an abrupt move to the spell-off, Scripps tweaked the competition rules, giving judges more leeway to let the competition play out before going to the tiebreaker. The nine finalists delivered. During one stretch, six spellers got 28 consecutive words right, and there were three perfect rounds during the finals. The last time there was a single perfect round was the infamous 2019 bee, which ended in an eight-way tie. Sarv, an 11-year-old fifth-grader from Dunwoody, Georgia, who ultimately finished third, would have been the youngest champion since Nihar Janga in 2016. He has three years of eligibility remaining. The most poised and mature of the final three, Sarvadnya — who's from Visalia, California — ends his career as the runner-up. He's 14 and in the eighth grade, which means he has aged out of the competition. It's not a bad way to go out, considering that Faizan became just the fifth runner-up in a century to come back and win, and the first since Sean Conley in 2001. Including Faizan, whose parents emigrated from southern India, 30 of the past 36 champions have been Indian American, a run that began with Nupur Lala's victory in 1999, which was later featured in the documentary "Spellbound." Lala was among the dozens of past champions who attended this year and signed autographs for spellers, families and bee fans to honour the anniversary. With the winner's haul of $52,500 US added to his second-place prize of $25,000, Faizan increased his bee earnings to $77,500 US. His big splurge with his winnings last year? A $1,500 US Rubik's cube with 21 squares on each side. This time, he said he'd donate a large portion of his winnings to charity. The bee began in 1925 when the Louisville Courier-Journal invited other newspapers to host spelling bees and send their champions to Washington. For the past 14 years, Scripps has hosted the competition at a convention centre just outside the nation's capital, but the bee returns downtown next year to Constitution Hall, a nearly century-old concert venue near the White House. A passionate champion Faizan has been spelling for more than half his life. He competed in the 2019 bee as a 7-year-old, getting in through a wild-card program that has since been discontinued. He qualified again in 2023 and made the semifinals before last year's second-place finish. "One thing that differentiates him is he really has a passion for this. In his free time, when he's not studying for the bee, he's literally looking up archaic, obsolete words that have no chance of being asked," Bruhat said. "I don't think he cares as much about the title as his passion for language and words." Faizan had no regrets about showing that enthusiasm, even though it nearly cost him. "No offence to Bruhat, but I think he really took the bee a little too seriously," Faizan said. "I decided to have fun with this bee, and I did well, and here I am."
Globe and Mail
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Globe and Mail
Faizan Zaki overcomes self-inflicted flub and wins the Scripps National Spelling Bee
Faizan Zaki's enthusiasm for spelling nearly got the better of him. Ultimately, his joyful approach made him the Scripps National Spelling Bee champion. The favourite entering the bee after his runner-up finish last year – during which he never misspelled a word in a conventional spelling round, only to lose a lightning-round tiebreaker that he didn't practice for – the shaggy-haired Faizan wore the burden of expectations lightly, sauntering to the microphone in a black hoodie and spelling his words with casual glee. Throughout Thursday night's finals, the 13-year-old from Allen, Tex., looked like a champion in waiting. Then he nearly threw it away. But even a shocking moment of overconfidence couldn't prevent him from seizing the title of best speller in the English language. With the bee down to three spellers, Sarvadnya Kadam and Sarv Dharavane missed their words back-to-back, putting Faizan two words away from victory. The first was 'commelina,' but instead of asking the requisite questions – definition, language of origin – to make sure he knew it, Faizan let his showman's instincts take over. 'K-A-M,' he said, then stopped himself. 'OK, let me do this. Oh, shoot!' 'Just ring the bell,' he told head judge Mary Brooks, who obliged. 'So now you know what happens,' Brooks said, and the other two spellers returned to the stage. Later, standing next to the trophy with confetti at his feet, Faizan said: 'I'm definitely going to be having nightmares about that tonight.' Even pronouncer Jacques Bailly tried to slow Faizan down before his winning word, 'eclaircissement,' but Faizan didn't ask a single question before spelling it correctly, and he pumped his fists and collapsed to the stage after saying the final letter. The bee celebrated its 100th anniversary this year, and Faizan may be the first champion who's remembered more for a word he got wrong than one he got right. 'I think he cared too much about his aura,' said Bruhat Soma, Faizan's buddy who beat him in the 'spell-off' tiebreaker last year. Faizan had a more nuanced explanation: After not preparing for the spell-off last year, he overcorrected, emphasizing speed during his study sessions. Although Bruhat was fast last year when he needed to be, he followed the familiar playbook for champion spellers: asking thorough questions, spelling slowly and metronomically, showing little emotion. Those are among the hallmarks of well-coached spellers, and Faizan had three coaches: Scott Remer, Sam Evans and Sohum Sukhantankar. None of them could turn Faizan into a robot on stage. 'He's crazy. He's having a good time, and he's doing what he loves, which is spelling,' Evans said. After last year's bee had little drama before an abrupt move to the spell-off, Scripps tweaked the competition rules, giving judges more leeway to let the competition play out before going to the tiebreaker. The nine finalists delivered. During one stretch, six spellers got 28 consecutive words right, and there were three perfect rounds during the finals. The last time there was a single perfect round was the infamous 2019 bee, which ended in an eight-way tie. Sarv, an 11-year-old fifth-grader from Dunwoody, Georgia, who ultimately finished third, would have been the youngest champion since Nihar Janga in 2016. He has three years of eligibility remaining. The most poised and mature of the final three, Sarvadnya – who's from Visalia, California – ends his career as the runner-up. He's 14 and in the eighth grade, which means he has aged out of the competition. It's not a bad way to go out, considering that Faizan became just the fifth runner-up in a century to come back and win, and the first since Sean Conley in 2001. Including Faizan, whose parents emigrated from southern India, 30 of the past 36 champions have been Indian American, a run that began with Nupur Lala's victory in 1999, which was later featured in the documentary 'Spellbound.' Lala was among the dozens of past champions who attended this year and signed autographs for spellers, families and bee fans to honour the anniversary. With the winner's haul of $52,500 added to his second-place prize of $25,000, Faizan increased his bee earnings to $77,500. His big splurge with his winnings last year? A $1,500 Rubik's cube with 21 squares on each side. This time, he said he'd donate a large portion of his winnings to charity.
