Fifth-grader from Freedom Trail Elementary competing in Scripps National Spelling Bee

In the corner of Avinav Prem Anand's living room on the Far North Side is a small table filled with more than a dozen taekwondo medals.

That's just a sampling of his achievement, however. Upstairs in his bedroom are dozens more.

The fifth-grader at Olentangy Local Schools' Freedom Trail Elementary is now looking to add yet another achievement to his overflowing collection, albeit a different kind.

Avinav is competing in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, which begins Tuesday and runs through Thursday. He faces 233 other spellers, including 16 fellow Ohioans.

Should Avinav win, he'd be the first from the Buckeye State to do so since 2010.

"It's my first time, so I'll just see what happens," he said. "If I don't (win), that's OK. I'll just come back and try again."

Which is a real possibility for the 11-year-old — spellers on the national stage range in age from 7 to 15.

Taekwondo similar to spelling

On a recent Thursday, Avinav stood barefoot on a floor mat at Polaris Taekwondo in Lewis Center, his home away from home. His fists clenched, Avinav let out a cry as he kicked the air in front of him.

"Not like that," Master Doug Baker said to his pupil. "Watch me."

Baker is the head instructor at Polaris Taekwondo and has been teaching Avinav since he was a white belt. Avinav earned a black belt in October.

"Avinav has always been a quiet-natured young man," Baker said. "But he tries hard. He works at it. A quiet focus is what he has."

In tournaments, the youth competes in forms and weapons. Forms, also called poomsae, are standardized movements done without a partner.

For Avinav, taekwondo is a lot like spelling — one slip-up can cost him dearly.

"I usually compete in five to six different events and whenever I do a slight wobble they may not vote for me, they'll go for the other person," Avinav said. "It's the same thing in the spelling bee. If I misspell one letter, I'm going to be out of the whole round. So I have to be really cautious."

Avinav has been practicing taekwondo for about two years. He took up the Korean martial art because he was being bullied.

"People call me names sometimes, and I didn't know how to face it," he said. "When I started going to taekwondo, I started to have more confidence and I became more brave."

Baker said Avinav's first competition ended poorly and that the young man took the loss hard. But his response to losing was also a sign of how much he cared.

"The thing about Avinav is that he has a deep concern to do well, as passionate concern to do well. Losing is hurtful to him," Baker said.

"He was upset. He cried," Baker continued. "And I was like 'OK, I can work with this.' Because when someone cares like that, then you can motivate them. What I typically say is, 'You remember how that felt? You've got to work hard so you'll never feel that way again.'"

Avinav did just that. He worked hard and improved. And after tasting success at subsequent competitions, he was hooked.

First time qualifying for bee

That work ethic carries over into spelling.

In preparation for the spelling bee, Avinav said he spent at least three hours a day with "Words of the Champions," the bee's official study resource that contains 4,000 words of varying difficulty.

"On the weekends, maybe just a little longer," he said.

Avinav's parents, who are Indian, each took turns quizzing their son with the help of an automated voice on the computer.

"Pronunciation is a key role and our accent might not match the accent of the pronouncer," said his mother, Priya Darshini Jegadeesan. "We try to play (the words) through the laptop or the system so he gets used to that pronunciation."

They even quizzed their son while he practiced taekwondo at home.

Some of the words Avinav successfully spelled during a recent practice session included pruritus (itch, according to Merriam-Webster), prestidigitation (sleight of hand), and bloggerati (people who write blogs).

Avinav said he first took a serious interest in spelling after participating in his schoolwide competition, which he won.

"I figured I'd give it a try and see what happens. Once I started winning spelling bees, I was able to know so many words in the English language," said Avinav, who also speaks Tamil, a language spoken in India and elsewhere.

His father has watched the national spelling bee for many years and is overjoyed his son has qualified.

"This is the first time he tried," said Prem Anand Rathinasabapathy.

'That's my student'

When Avinav steps onto the stage this week in front of a national audience at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland, the setting won't be all that different for him. He's competed on a national stage before — a couple of times, in fact.

The Amateur Athletic Union Taekwondo National Championships were held last year in Las Vegas, and Avinav came away with five medals, one of which was gold.

"He rises to the top with the bigger event," Baker said. "He knows how to focus harder when the stakes are higher."

How to watch the Scripps National Spelling Bee

Hosted by LeVar Burton, this year's Scripps National Spelling Bee will be televised on ION and Bounce.

To watch the preliminaries, starting Tuesdayat 9 a.m., and the quarterfinals, starting Wednesday at 8 a.m., go to free streaming platforms on the ION Plus and Bounce XL channels.

The semifinals, beginning Wednesday at about 4 p.m., and finals, beginning Thursday at 8 p.m., also will be livestreamed on ION Plus and Bounce XL.

Monroe Trombly covers breaking and trending news.

mtrombly@dispatch.com

@MonroeTrombly

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus fifth-grader competes in Scripps National Spelling Bee