NORTH ATTLEBORO -

Local residents rooting for a North Attleboro teenager wished he could've changed the spelling of his "Final Jeopardy!" answer Wednesday night.

Yet, Karan Takhar, 17, says he wouldn't have changed a thing, even though he would've reached the "Jeopardy! Teen Tournament" finals, where the top prize was $75,000.

Takhar said Thursday night he won $10,000 during the tourney.

"I'm glad I played the way I did," he said. "I came back. I could've easily given up halfway through the game." "To me, it wasn't like I was out of my league, like I didn't belong on the stage."

Takhar was tied for first entering the single-question final round Wednesday night. The category was "Non-fiction Writers." The question was about Adolph Hitler.

But Takhar wrote "Annie Frank," rather than "Anne Frank," as his two opponents had.

Takhar said taping stopped for 25 to 30 minutes while judges reviewed his answer.

He said he realized his mistake when a member of the production crew approached him as that clock started.

"It was an interesting 30 minutes. I've never had an experience like that," Takhar said.

The judges ruled Takhar's answer was incorrect.

Takhar said the close-up of him mulling his answer shows how uncertain he was about what to write.

"I'm mouthing 'Anne or Annie?' to myself," said the senior at the Wheeler School in Providence.

Takhar had to keep the tournament results to himself until Wednesday night's show aired. Thursday, "Most people were saying, 'That rule is there, but that isn't a good rule,'" he said.

Takhar, though, said that "by the rules, 'Annie Frank' is a wrong answer," even though there's "no other person I possibly could've been talking about."

"I can go back and replay that game 100 times, and 50 times when I play it I'll say 'Anne,'" he said.

"It's not something I dwell on."