Virginia 8th-Grader Wins National Geographic Bee

An eighth-grader from Northern Virginia has outlasted nine other young scholars to win the National Geographic Bee.

Akhil Rekulapelli, of Sterling, Virginia, finished fourth in last year's bee. This year, the 14-year-old answered all three questions right in a one-on-one showdown with the youngest of the 10 finalists, 11-year-old Ameya Mujumdar, of Tampa, Florida.

The decisive question: What African country is building a new capital called Oyala in the rain forest, 65 miles east of the current capital, Bala? The answer: Equatorial Guinea.

Akhil receives a $50,000 scholarship, a trip to the Galapagos Islands with his family and a lifetime membership in the National Geographic Society.

Akhil says he aspires to become a surgeon. He says winning the bee is his greatest accomplishment so far.