When he came to the Scripps National Spelling Bee last year, Saketh Sundar, speller 187, had low expectations for his performance.
“Last year, I was coming here for the experience,” he said. “I just wanted to have fun.”
Saketh said he’s nervous before he gets his words on-stage – but only because he doesn’t know what they are yet.
He tied for 46th place in 2016. Knowing he was going to come back, he decided he wanted to do better.
“I think the preliminary test, since I studied more, it was much easier,” he said. “I want to improve my final standing.”