It was the six-letter word soiree which finally helped 13-year-old city girl Sadhana Ponnaluri bag the first place at the city finale of the HDFC Life Spell Bee India Spells-2013 here on Sunday.A Class IX student of Delhi Public School,Secunderabad,Sadhana beat nearly 350 students from 30 schools across Hyderabad to win the city round this year.She said she has always been interested in spelling contests.

From many years I have had a keen interest in such competitions.I really love the English language and learning new and big words, she said,after winning the city finale of the event,powered by the Times of India with NIE as the education partner.I had a wonderful time at the contest and felt the difficulty level was just right.I am very excited to represent the city in the next round, she added. I am so proud of her,this is a very happy moment, said Hema Ponnaluri,Sadhanas mother.Such contests are a great way of motivating the kids and encouraging them to be involved in activities which will help them in the future too, she added.

The venue,APSRTC Kala Bhavan at Baghlingampally,was buzzing with activity right from 10am on Sunday with kids pouring in from localities spread across town along with their parents and some coming in big groups along with their schoolmates.The first round was a written test after which the top 10 students were selected.Four students made it to the final round,which was a nail-biting climax. The participants were asked to spell words including catarrh,egregious,charades and cirrhosis through the day and they seemed thoroughly prepared for the contest,many carrying heavy dictionaries and thesauruses for reference in between rounds.
The winner,Sadhana,and runner-up A V Lakshmy,Class IX student of Gitanjali Senior School,Begumpet,will represent the city in the upcoming online test next week which will be attempted by 70 students from 35 cities.Following the test,the final 16 will compete in the national finale in Mumbai.