In a proud moment for India and the Indian-American community, a 12-year-old boy Bruhat Soma recently won the prestigious Scripps National Spelling Bee 2024. The 96th Scripps National Spelling Bee winner was decided after a spell off due to a tie. Bruhat Soma excelled in the tensed spell-off at the Scripps National Spelling Bee. A Spell is like a penalty kick when the last two children continue to answer the spelling of difficult words until one of them falters. The spell off only the second in the competition's history. As per reports, Bruhat correctly spelled an astounding 29 words in just 90 seconds, setting a bar so high that it looked impossible to beat. His opponent, Faizan Zaki, put up a strong effort but couldn't keep up with Bruhat's speed. Faizan managed to spell 25 words but missed four, securing Bruhat's victory and a whopping $50,000 in prize money along with the trophy.
Now, the question arises who is Bruhat Soma, Scripps National Spelling Bee winner? Below is all about Bruhat Soma, Scripps National Spelling Bee winner-
Who is Bruhat Soma?
Hailing from Tempa, Florida, Bruhat Soma is of Indian Origin. As per reports, Bruhat Soma became the 28th Indian American to win the prestigious title. This year’s win was Bruhat’s third attempt at the national level.
Talking about Bruhat Soma's family, his father, Srinivas Soma, hails from Nalgonda in Telangana. Apart from being a spell-geek, Bruhat is a multi-talented individual who excels in various areas of interest. He enjoys playing and watching basketball, with LeBron James being his favorite player. Bruhat's other hobbies include playing badminton, ping-pong, and the snare drum in his middle school band.
Interestingly, the 12-year-old child prodigy, Bruhat also has an exceptional memory. It is said that Bruhat has memorised 80% of the Bhagavad Gita. Bruhat’s winning word, “abseil,” which means “a descent in mountaineering by means of a rope looped over a projection above,” clinched his victory.
Talking about his spell-off preparation, Bruhat was quoted saying, "I was pretty confident that I had a chance at winning because I’ve been working so hard..And I really wanted to win. That’s why I practiced the spell-off so much."
It is pertinent to mention here that the Scripps National Spelling Bee is dominated by Indian-Americans for the past two decades. The Indian-American community reportedly makes up about 1.3% of the US population but dominating the competition. This year, the majority of the participants were of Indian descent. A total of 228 children took part in it.