While all eyes are once again set on Texas-based Indian American star speller Samir Patel, ten other Indian American kids are ready to prove their mettle in the semi finals of the 80th Scripps National Spelling Bee championship.

286 spellers took part in the competition on Wednesday. The 11 Indian American spellers were among the 59 who qualified for the semi finals after a multiple-choice written round and three oral spelling rounds. One of them will be crowned champion on Thursday.

The spellers qualified to compete in the national competition by winning locally-sponsored spelling bees in their home communities.

The competition, being held in the Independence Ballroom of the Grand Hyatt Washington, is administered on a not-for-profit basis by The E W Scripps Company in Cincinnati and 280 local sponsors.

Image: Kavya Shivashankar of Olathe, Kansas, tries to spell her word during the 2007 Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, DC.
Photograph: Alex Wong/Getty Images