14-year-old studied 200 Scrabble words a day and became world youth champion

Fourteen-year-old Dineth Fernando arrived in Australia only seven months ago, yet he is already a world champion in Scrabble. The teen from Sri Lanka took part in the World Youth Scrabble Championship in Nairobi, beating a field of about 140 competitors from around the globe. His victory is the result of years of hard work, as Fernando studied 200 words a day to improve his vocabulary.

Fernando's love for Scrabble began when he was eight years old, and he continued to train in Sri Lanka before moving to Melbourne. He won the Australian Youth Scrabble Championship in July, which gave him the confidence to compete against the best young players in the world. The win is all the more impressive considering that English is his second language.

Fernando's father, Prasanna Fernando, is a medical doctor who moved the family to Australia this year. The move was not easy, as the journey from Australia to Nairobi took 25 hours by plane, and international tensions added to the uncertainty. However, father and son decided to take the leap, and Fernando's hard work paid off in spectacular style.

Despite his success, Fernando's achievements highlight a gap in Australia's competitive Scrabble scene. While the game is played in some Australian communities, it is not as prominent in schools as it is in countries like Sri Lanka. Only one Australian school currently teaches Scrabble as part of its curriculum. Scrabble president Tony Hunt believes that the game should play a bigger role in Australian schools, as it combines the attributes of a sport with essential literacy and numeracy skills.

Fernando's journey is a testament to the power of a familiar board game to connect languages, countries, and cultures. His disciplined approach to vocabulary building and focus on the game has taken him to the world stage. At just fourteen years old, Fernando has already made a remarkable impact on the world of Scrabble, and his future aspirations in math, science, and medicine show that his success is just the beginning.