11-year old SYAMANTAK PAYRA from Friendswood, TX clinches the
title.
August 17,
2012 - Syamantak Payra correctly spelled the word 'dghaisa' during the 2012 South Asian Spelling Bee Finals to clinch
the title of National Champion. During the event on August 17, which was taped
live for broadcast on Sony Entertainment Television, Syamantak along with 21
other finalists competed for the title. Chetan Reddy from Plano, TX was the
National Runner-Up.
Twenty-two top spellers from the 11 regional
centers gathered at the Rutgers College auditorium to battle it out for the
title of champion and a $10,000 Grand Prize from MetLife. It took spelling
words like 'drahthaar', 'Neufchtel' and 'wappenschawing' for the winner to
emerge.
The event was organized by leading South Asian
advertising firm, Touchdown Media Inc. and sponsored by MetLife, a leading
provider of insurance, employee benefits and other financial services. Sony
Entertainment Television is the exclusive rights holder and will be
broadcasting the event across the globe in over 119 countries.
"An elite group of 22 spellers from across the
country gathered here tonight and the contest was tough! The best finally
prevailed, so heartiest congratulations to Syamantak, our youngest
champion so far, and all the spellers", says Rahul Walia, CEO, Touchdown
Media Inc. and Founder of the South Asian Spelling Bee.
He also adds "This is a great platform that helps
children showcase their talent, hone their skill and inculcate a sense of
discipline and discipline that will help in their overall development. I urge
parents to take advantage of this unique contest next year."
The special guest at the Finals was Narahari
Bharadwaj, 2011 South Asian Spelling Bee National Champion, who helped co-host
a portion of the event.
The champion received a $10,000 grand prize from
MetLife along with the South Asian Spelling Bee trophy.
"It was an honor to once again serve as the title sponsor of the South
Asian Spelling Bee. The competition this year was remarkable, says Laurel
Daring, assistant vice president of Marketing at MetLife. "Congratulations to
all of the families who participated. The hard work they invested to compete is
truly commendable."
The event was open to children up to 14 years of
age and was held in 11 regional centers across the United States. These areas
included, New Jersey, DC Metro area, Dallas, Houston, Chicago, New York,
Boston, Los Angeles, Bay Area and the newly added - Seattle. The contest was
conducted in written and oral format at the regional levels which served as the
elimination as well as selection process for the finalists. Jaideep Janakiram, Head - North America, SET Asia commented, "Sony
Entertainment Television Asia is delighted to have been able to partner with
the South Asian Spelling Bee since its inception 5 years ago. Over these past
years, South Asian Spelling Bee has been consistently making a positive impact
amongst the youth across the US. Spelling Bee is a
fantastic platform for youth of all ages to showcase their language skills,
dedication and self-motivation. SET Asia is always looking to entertain and to
involve our international viewers in shows such as the Spelling Bee and look
forward to broadcast this exciting event to all its viewers around the
globe."
After registering their child online at www.southasianspellingbee.com,
parents brought them to the designated center and a 25 word written test was
administered. Children had to spell 15 or more words correctly to qualify for
the afternoon oral round and from there the top three were awarded prize money
and the top two qualified for the Finals.
From each of these centers, the finalists along
with a parent were invited on an all expenses paid trip to the finals in NJ.
Overall about 700 children registered to spell amongst all the centers.
The contest will be conducted annually in the June
and July months and the 2013 schedule will be announced in October this year.
For more information and to keep abreast with the upcoming events, log onto www.southasianspellingbee.com.
Find us on Facebook at South Asian Spelling Bee and you can
follow us on our Twitter handle at Spell
South Asian. About
MetLife:
MetLife
is a subsidiary of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET), the leading global provider of
insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs, serving 90 million
customers in over 60 countries. Through its subsidiaries and affiliates,
MetLife holds leading market positions in the United States, Japan, Latin
America, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East. For more information, please
visit www.metlife.com.
About
Sony Entertainment Television:
Since its launch on the Indian subcontinent in
1995, Sony Entertainment Television (SET) has enjoyed rapid success, leading to
the establishment of European, North American and African feeds known as SET
Asia. SET and SET Asia are now available in over 150 countries. The channels
offer their viewers a distinctive blend of entertainment programs twenty-four
hours a day, including, soap operas, dramas, sitcoms, concerts, movies, and
game shows. For more information, visit www.setasia.tv.
About
Touchdown Media Inc.:
Touchdown Media Inc. is a specialized South Asian
advertising and promotions firm based in New Jersey. Now in its 9th successful
year, Touchdown has helped clients- both mainstream and otherwise, reach out to
the lucrative South Asian market, Touchdown Media represents more than 35 years
of collective experience in this niche market. As a full service ad firm,
Touchdown has helped many clients achieve their media and marketing goals
within the South Asian Diaspora in the US. For more information, please visit www.touchdown-media.com. Press Contact:
NITEKA MOKAL
848-248-4199
niteka@touchdown-media.com
| About Author |
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Media and Public Relationship Manager for Touchdown Media, Inc.
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Website: http://www.southasianspellingbee.com
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