The 13-year-old prodigy Faizan Zaki won the latest installment of the Scripps National Spelling Bee contest despite nearly throwing away the chance because of a careless error. He outlasted eight accomplished spellers to achieve the feat and bag a cash prize of $52,500. Interestingly, two of them actually got a second chance in the contest because of Faizan¡¯s blunder.??
Faizan Zaki, a teenager from Texas, got an opportunity to shut out the competition when Sarvadnya Kadam and Sarv Dharavane misspelled their words. He, however, failed to seize the chance as he misspelled the word ¡®commelina¡¯. This allowed Sarvadnya? and Sarv to return to the stage.?
However,? luckily for Faizan, both of them misspelled their words. Post this, the teenager stayed calm and ensured that his competitors did not get another chance to return to the microphone. He took home the prize by spelling ' ¨¦claircissement' in one go.?
??With this, he took home a cash prize of $52,500. He had previously taken home $25,000 for securing second place in the competition. His total earnings from the competition are $77,500.??
Scripps National Spelling Bee wads first held in 1925 and has emerged as a major attraction since. It is backed by Scripps, a media company. This year¡¯s contest marked the last time it was held at a convention center just outside Washington on the banks of the Potomac River, which has been its home for 14 years. Next year, it will be held at Constitution Hall, a nearly century-old concert venue near the White House.