Indian-Origin Kids Win US National Spelling Bee Contest

Spelling Bee 2016 ended in a tie for the 3rd consecutive year with Jairam Hathwar and Nihar Janga declared winners.

Nihar Janga (left) and Jairam Hathwar (right), joint winners of the 2016 edition of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, in Oxon Hill, USA. (Photo: AP/ESPN screengrab)

The Scripps National Spelling Bee ended in a tie for the third consecutive year Thursday, with Jairam Hathwar and Nihar Janga declared co-champions after a roller-coaster finish.

Thirteen-year-old Jairam is the younger brother of the 2014 co-champion, Sriram Hathwar. Nihar, at age 11, is the youngest winner of the competition on record.

Scripps made the bee tougher after two consecutive ties, forcing the last two spellers to get through three times as many words as in years past.

Jairam misspelled two words, but both times, Nihar followed up with a miss and the bee continued.

The bee ended with Jairam correctly spelling Feldenkrais and Nihar spelling Gesellschaft.

Each will receive a trophy and 45,000 US Dollars (40,000 Euro) in cash and prizes.

Inputs: AP/ESPN

Video Editor: Purnendu Pritam