Washington: Akhil Rekulapelli, a 13-year-old Indian-American student, has won the prestigious National Geographic Bee contest that carries a USD 50,000 college scholarship, outclassing nine others including four Indian-origin contestants. Akhil, of Virginia, beat out second-place winner Ameya Mujumdar, an 11-year-old fifth grader from Florida who received USD 25,000 college scholarship, in the final round on Wednesday held at National Geographic headquarters here. Akhil, who hopes to work for Doctors Without Borders, answered all three questions correctly in a one-on-one showdown with Ameya.

The winning question that helped the eight-grader clinch the title was: The discovery of a major shale oil deposit in the Vaca Muerta formation in 2010 has led to an expansion of oil drilling in the Neuquén province in what country? Answer: Argentina. Akhil said his "head was racing" when he heard the first part of the question, but then he recognised the name of the province. "I feel like all my hard work has paid off." Akhil, who plays clarinet in his school's top band and is a first degree black belt in tae kwon do, outsmarted seven other contestants in the tie-breaker round to secure the final spot in the top 10.

He emerged ahead of more than four million students, who originally competed in school-level bees across the US, National Geographic said. The top-10 finishers in the preliminary rounds met in the final round moderated for the first time by award-winning journalist Soledad O'Brien. Akhil's father, Prasad Rekulapelli, said his son had an affinity for maps -– he was able to put together a puzzle of the US when he was 18-months-old. The eight-grader is the first student from Virginia – a suburb of Washington DC-- to win the competition that includes a lifetime membership in the National Geographic Society and a trip for two to the Galápagos Islands on an expedition aboard the Lindblad ship National Geographic Endeavour, apart from the scholarship. Akhil had finished fourth last year at the nationwide contest.