05/28/26 10:18:00
Printable Page
05/28 22:17 CDT Shrey Parikh wins the Scripps National Spelling Bee, beating
Ishaan Gupta in lightning round
Shrey Parikh wins the Scripps National Spelling Bee, beating Ishaan Gupta in
lightning round
By BEN NUCKOLS
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) --- Shrey Parikh felt the pressure of arriving at the Scripps
National Spelling Bee as a favorite, but his confidence showed every time he
got a word he knew. And when it all came down to a lightning-round tiebreaker
against Ishaan Gupta, Shrey left no doubt.
Shrey turned a tense, high-quality final into a blowout Thursday night, racing
through the 90-second "spell-off" and getting 32 words right to be crowned the
best young speller in the English language. Ishaan spelled 25 words correctly
in the tiebreaker.
A 14-year-old from Rancho Cucamonga, California, Shrey finished third in 2024
but lost his school bee last year when he was battling a fever. He has
dominated the bee circuit since, winning several online competitions against
many of the same kids he outlasted this week in the nation's capital. His
winning haul includes a custom trophy and $52,500 in cash.
"Right now I'm probably the happiest I've ever been. I'm just so happy and
relieved, and just such a flood of emotions," Shrey said. "At my school bee
last year, I was really dejected and just very upset. It didn't even sink in
until the next day. I had a really tough time, but I'm glad I was able to
bounce back."
Ishaan, a 12-year-old seventh-grader from Jersey City, New Jersey, was a
semifinalist last year, outperformed some veteran spellers in the finals and
has another year of eligibility left.
Sarv Dharavane, a 12-year-old sixth-grader from Dunwoody, Georgia, finished
third for the second consecutive year and has two more years to improve that
placement.
For the first time in the bee's history, second- and third-place finishers from
the same year have gone on to win. Faizan Zaki won last year, and two years ago
he was the runner-up, just ahead of Shrey, his close friend.
Sporting a business-casual look with a dark, long-sleeve collared shirt, khakis
and sneakers, the lanky Shrey strode to the microphone with a dour,
apprehensive expression that instantly vanished when he heard his word from
pronouncer Jacques Bailly and nodded vigorously --- his tell that, yes, he knew
it.
Upon hearing the announcement confirming his victory in the spell-off, Shrey
turned and shook his competitor's hand.
He can credit his victory to intense preparation. Shrey had three coaches: Sam
Evans, who has tutored each of the past three champions; Sohum Sukhatankar, a
co-champion himself in 2019; and Vijaya Ganesh, a longtime coach and the mother
of a former spellers. He competed nonstop against other top spellers, pored
through advanced study guides and tried to eliminate the variables that had led
to the few unexpected exits of his long spelling career.
"The school bee last year was a blessing in disguise," said Shrey's father,
Gaurav Parikh. "That's very important in life to experience, you know, ups and
downs. You're not going to win everything. You're going to learn how to deal
with setbacks."
Former spellers, coaches and other observers described this group of finalists
as unusually strong, and they showed off their skills early by going 18 for 18
at the start, breezing through the first spelling and vocabulary rounds. Aiden
Meng of Orinda, California, ended that streak when he was tripped up by
"catometope" to start the second spelling round.
Then the crowd gasped when the bell rung on two thought to be capable of
winning it all: Oliver Halkett for "Faesulae" and Zwe Spacetime for "vaesite,"
words with tricky combinations of origins and vowel sounds.
The bee's move to Constitution Hall, a point of contention for spellers and
their families because of inconveniences it caused, helped imbue the event with
a lively atmosphere, with more intimate seating and better sight lines bringing
the crowd closer to the action.
New television host Mina Kimes of ESPN narrated the action smoothly alongside
longtime bee analyst Paul Loeffler.
One thing that was missing with the new venue: A shower of confetti when the
champion was announced. Shrey's celebration was muted, respectful. But there
was no doubt that he was a deserving winner.
"Shrey's relentless," Evans said. "I've really never seen someone put this much
effort into spelling bees and learning everything that he possibly can."
___
Ben Nuckols has covered the Scripps National Spelling Bee since 2012. Follow
his work here.
|
