25 Indian-Americans have made it to the list of 49 semi-finalists of the 88th Scripps National Spelling Bee, which is under way at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland.

These kids are not nerds and neither their parents lock them up and starve them till they have learned the whole dictionary. In fact, they are all-rounders who perform jazz, dance, watch movies, climb mountains, play sports and do everything regular kids do; and their continued dominance in the prestigious annual contest shows their intellect.

These Indian-Americans would vie for top positions in the final of 88th Scripps National Spelling Bee scheduled for Friday (India time).

For several years now, Indian-Americans have put up formidable challenges to their competitors and won most of the prestigious spelling awards in the United States.

Gokul Venkatachalam, 14, from St Louis, Missouri, who finished third in 2014, is considered favourite this year.

Sriram Hathwar, 12, and Ansun Sujoe were the joint winners in 2014.

Making her fifth appearance to the Spelling Bee, 13-year-old Vanya Shivashankar from Kansas is another frontrunner.

Ms. Shivashankar previously competed in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in 2010, 2012 (tied for 10th place), 2013 (tied for 5th place) and 2014 (tied for 13th place).

Her elder sister, Kavya, won the 2009 championship.