14 year old SUKANYA ROY from South Abington, Pennsylvania, the 2010 MetLife South Asian Spelling Bee National First Runner-Up (http://www.southasianspellingbee.com/results/2010-2/), took home the Scripps National Trophy with her spelling of the championship word: cymotrichous.

It is a matter of pride for the South Asian community that a desi speller has once again clinched the Scripps National Spelling Bee Championship. It may be noted, more than half of the 13 finalists in this year’s Scripps National Spelling Bee were South Asians, with 4 being South Asian Spelling Bee alumni:

• Sriram Hathwar - 2010 DC Regional Champ, National Second Runner-Up
• Arvind Mahankali - 2010 NJ Regional Second Runner-Up
• Prakash Mishra - 2010 DC Regional Second Runner-Up
• Sukanya Roy - 2010 NY Regional Champ, National First Runner-Up

“The MetLife South Asian Spelling Bee provides a critical platform for our spellers to evolve and I am really looking forward to seeing all the new talent this year”, says Rahul Walia, CEO, Touchdown Media Inc. and Founder of the South Asian Spelling Bee.”Our heartiest Congratulations to the finalists and their families,” he added.

Another 2010 MetLife South Asian Spelling Bee alumni, Arvind Mahankali, placed in the group of the top 5 spellers who survived five perfect rounds.  At only 9 years old two years ago, Arvind was the 2009 MetLife South Asian Spelling Bee National Runner-Up.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to me for any questions and you can always log on to www.southasianspellingbee.com for additional information.

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