Less than three months after winning the 2019 Japan Times Bee, Ariya Narayanasamy spelled himself into the next round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee on Tuesday.
The 12-year-old from Tokyo correctly spelled "bandicoot" and will compete in round three on Wednesday.
Hosted in National Harbor just outside of Washington, the contest is the premier U.S. spelling competition. The event drew hundreds of spellers from all 50 states and seven other countries.