Singapore student triumphs in regional inaugural spelling competition

Elizabeth Yong Shi En from Singapore and Kenneth Wu Min Jin from Malaysia were crowned champions of the inaugural regional spelling competition, Asia Spelling Cup.

Elizabeth walked away with the championship title for the Primary category, while Kenneth won the Secondary category.

Both winners beat 19 other finalists in a three-hour competition with each taking home a grand prize of US$5,000 (S$6232.30) and a Samsung Tablet Samsung Galaxy Note 8.

The 19 finalists at Asia Spelling Cup were from four countries- China, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. Preliminary rounds were held via the local Spelling Bee competitions, online or via the Qooco app over a month, attracting over 100,000 participants.

Top scorers from each country's leader board were flown to Singapore to compete in the finals.

Finalists competed in one-hour elimination rounds where they were asked to spell a series of words. Incorrect spelling saw participants instantly eliminated and successful participants continued on to the next level, which increased in difficulty.

The winners eventually emerged victorious after 10 levels, having to spell more than 10 words.

The first runner-up for primary category is Michael Anil Naratnam from Malaysia and third-placed Samuel Abraham Tang from Indonesia, who walked away with a Samsung tablet each, and US$2,500 and US$1,500 respectively.

For secondary category, the runner-up was Amanda Ngu Teng Teng from Malaysia and third was Kowsalya Ganesan from Singapore.