Indian-American student Akhil Rekulapelli won National Geographic Bee Championship

Indian-American student Akhil Rekulapelli on 21 May 2014 won the National Geographic Bee championship in Washington, USA.

Ameya Mujumdar from Florida stood second, while California's Tuvya Bergson-Michelson finished third. Ameya Mujumdar is also an Indian American student.

Akhil won the 50000 US dollar college scholarship given to the winner of the National Geographic Bee Championship.  Akhil also received a trip to the Galapagos Islands with National Geographic's Lindblad Expeditions.

Eighth grade student Akhil Rekulapelli belongs to Virginia. He started with a School Bee competition in Ashburn and advanced to the national championship after excelling in both regional and state geography bees.

The National Geographic Bee is an annual geography contest sponsored by the National Geographic Society. The bee, held every year since 1989, is open to students in the fourth through eighth grade in participating American schools.