Spelling Bee finalists, mostly Indian-American children, visit White House

He blitzed through 30 words in 90 seconds Thursday night and judges determined that he spelled 29 of them correctly — nine more than his competitor, Faizan Zaki.

Aposiopesis. Abseil.

Watch Bruhat Soma, a seventh-grader from Tampa, Florida, win the Scripps National Spelling Bee title. The 12-year-old spelled 29 words correctly in a tiebreaker. pic.twitter.com/hA9YmwkZeV

— The Associated Press (@AP) May 31, 2024

On Friday, the White House invited them to attend an event on the South Lawns where President Joe Biden welcomed the Kansas City Chiefs to celebrate their championship season and victory in Super Bowl LVIII.

Bruhat, sporting a yellow championship T-shirt and a red tilak on his forehead, was joined by seven other finalists, including four others of Indian descent, and their parents.

The four other Indian Americans were: Rishabh Saha, 14 and Shrey Parikh, 12, from California; Aditi Muthukumar, 13, from Colorado; and Ananya Rao Prasanna, 13, from North Carolina.

They did not meet the president but saw other champions — the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.

All the finalists were seen taking pictures on the White House lawns and were excited about visiting the office-cum-residence of the US President.