Indian-Origin Teen Won US Spelling Bee 2023

Dev Shah, an Indian origin teen triumphed in the most recent Scripps National Spelling Bee competition Friday night and received a $50,000 cash prize for spelling the word "psammophile" correctly. Second place went to Virginian Charlotte Walsh. In the previous 24 years, he is also the 22nd Spelling Bee champion of South Asian descent.

Psammophile, which Merriam-Webster defines as a creature that thrives in sandy environments, was Dev's winning word. Before recognizing the winning word, Shah requested all the details just to be safe, grinning slightly as if he was very certain he knew what it was.

Out of the 11 million people who entered the spelling bee from all around the world, he was one of the 11 finalists.