This 7-year-old is a spelling wizard

He is just 7 years old and is an English spelling prodigy. He has an excellent vocabulary and brilliance of word application. Meet Akhil Bandi, a young brain and resident of Suncity Apartments at Iblur on the Sarjapur-Outer Ring Road junction.
Akhil, who is studying in II Standard, has been selected to represent India at the international level for the finals of MaRRS International Spelling Bee Championship to be held at Abu Dhabi on January 7, 2012. Akhil was qualified through his school under Category I, while he was in I Standard. Born on April 21, 2004, Akhil's parents are IT professionals. The competition would test the English capabilities of participating children, thereby improving communication skills and the confidence level. Children go through the various rounds that asses their spelling, pronunciation and word usage skills.
According to the MaRRS, two lakh children will be selected at the national level from 12 countries and across six categories, out of which only one per cent will be selected for the international level.

How it began…
It was a casual enrolment for the Spelling Bee championship that was held at school level in January 2011 where he was selected for the inter-school championship in April 2011. From that level onwards, there was no turning back for him. He was selected for the state championship in June 2011 and consequently for the national championship held in September 2011.
Thereafter, Akhil was selected for the international prelims held at Thrissur in Kerala during October 2011, from where he was selected for the finals of international championship.
Akhil developed an interest in phonetics at the early age of four and his aunt gifted him phonetic books comprising six levels. "Akhil completed four out of six levels within three months. He read lots of comic books and completes it quickly," said Madhavi P, mother of Akhil.

Preparation
"At first, we did not take the school level Spelling Bee competition seriously and did not prepare Akhil for the competition. He was selected for the inter-school championship and preparation started for each level thereon. An exercise book was given to Akhil by MaRRS that comprised words for practice," she added.
"I download model questions from internet for practice that will help him identifying correct spellings. He practises an hour daily for the competition. We do not pressure him and we advise him to prepare well for each level before participating in the competition. At the same time, he should not be careless and must concentrate more as he has been selected for the finals now," Madhavi said.

Interests
Mystery and adventure stories interest him most. "I like reading books, cycling, cricket, swimming, karate and basketball," said Akhil.
Before the national championship, an orientation programme was conducted by MaRRS, which proved useful for Akhil.

‘practice made him perfect’
'He practises for an hour daily for the competition. We do not pressurise him and we advise him to prepare well for each level before the competition.
- Madhavi, mother

--Raghavendra R