Indian-American teen wins Scripps Spelling Bee

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New York: Faizan Zaki, a 13-year-old Indian-American student from Texas, has won the Scripps National Spelling Bee after he spelt “éclaircissement” correctly, maintaining the dominance of the children from the community in the prestigious US competition.

Zaki will take home $50,000, a medal and a trophy as he won the Spelling Bee in its 100th year.

Zaki defeated Sarvadnya Kadam to win the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee on Thursday night. The 13-year-old took home the Scripps Cup, outspelling more than 240 students from across the country, Scripps said in a post on X.

A seventh-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 the fourth time Zaki participated in the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Zaki earned the prestigious title in round 21 when he correctly spelt “éclaircissement,” which is defined as “the clearing up of something obscure: enlightenment.” He outlasted eight other accomplished spellers to win the title.

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