Indian-origin 14-year-old student Shrey
Parikh won the prestigious National Spelling Bee 2026 title in the United
States
¨
Indian-origin 14-year-old
student Shrey Parikh won the prestigious National Spelling Bee 2026 title in
the United States.
¨
Shrey Parikh is a
resident of Rancho Cucamonga, California.
¨
The competition was held
on 28 May 2026 at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C.
¨
Shrey displayed
exceptional vocabulary, concentration, and composure to secure the
championship.
¨
The National Spelling Bee
is one of the most prestigious annual spelling competitions in the United
States.
¨
School-level students
participate in the competition by correctly spelling challenging English words.
¨
The contest includes oral
spelling rounds, elimination rounds, and, when necessary, a special
tie-breaking round.
¨
The 98th edition of the
competition in 2026 featured around 250 participants.
¨
Contestants came from all
50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin
Islands, Department of Defense schools, and five other countries.
¨
In the final round, Shrey
Parikh faced 12-year-old Ishan Gupta of New Jersey.
¨
After a closely contested
battle, a special 90-second spell-off round was conducted to determine the
winner.
¨
During the high-speed
tie-breaker, Shrey correctly spelled 32 words.
¨
Ishan Gupta correctly
spelled 25 words.
¨ Shrey’s total of 32 correctly spelled words set a new record in the spell-off format of the competition
¨ With this outstanding performance, Shrey Parikh claimed the National Spelling Bee 2026 title.
