Laborious work takes you a great distance and 14-year-old Dineth Fernando has already discovered that 200 phrases a day can take you very far. The Melbourne teenager has solely been in Australia for seven months however has already been to Nairobi and again with one of many largest prizes in youth Scrabble: the World Youth Scrabble Championship, ABC Data and Providers stories. Fernando, who arrived in Australia together with his household from Sri Lanka in February, beat a subject of about 140 opponents from world wide to win the title early final week. For a teen nonetheless discovering his footing in a brand new nation, the victory is greater than a trophy. It’s the results of years of dedication to a sport that has given him friendships, taught him English, and supplied a way of belonging.
A phrase a day… or 200 phrases a day
In keeping with the information report, Fernando learnt to play Scrabble at college when he was eight. His ardour for the sport grew shortly and he competed within the Sri Lankan nationwide championships in 2022 and 2024. He continued to coach when he moved to Melbourne and made it a behavior to construct vocabulary. He studied the sport’s official dictionary, studying some 200 phrases a day, in preparation for the world championship. His efforts paid off in July when he gained the Australian Youth Scrabble Championship. That victory gave him the boldness to compete towards the world’s finest younger gamers in Nairobi. Much more spectacular about Fernando’s accomplishment is that English is his second language. Scrabble has been helpful outdoors competitors as he begins life in Australia, offering him with a method to meet folks and make pals.
Sri Lankan custom
Coach Rashid Sudin, who has labored with the participant for years, has additionally performed an influential function in his growth as a aggressive participant.
Fernando’s love of Scrabble began in a rustic with a robust presence of the sport in faculties. In Sri Lanka, as in India, Pakistan, Malaysia and Thailand, Scrabble has a aggressive college tradition. Faculty golf equipment and inter-school competitions present younger gamers the chance to hone their abilities from an early age. It’s reported that the surroundings was the inspiration for Fernando’s worldwide success. Coach Rashid Sudin, who has labored with the participant for years, has additionally performed an influential function in his growth as a aggressive participant.
A household leap of religion
Fernando’s father, Prasanna Fernando, is a medical physician who labored in Sri Lanka. His research and work took the household to Australia this yr. It was not a straightforward choice to get to Nairobi for the championship. The flight took some 25 hours and worldwide tensions over the US-Iran battle added one other layer of uncertainty to the journey. Finally, father and son determined to make the leap. It paid off in spectacular fashion with Fernando coming again to Australia a world champion.
Australia nonetheless has room to develop
Fernando’s success has additionally uncovered a niche in Australia’s aggressive Scrabble scene. Scrabble is performed in some Australian communities, however is way much less outstanding in faculties than in international locations comparable to Sri Lanka. Just one Australian college, Cabramatta Public Faculty in Sydney’s southwest, at present teaches Scrabble as a part of its curriculum, stated Youth Australia Scrabble Gamers Affiliation president Tony Hunt. The sport can be accessible as an extension exercise in a few of Victoria’s gifted and proficient packages. Hunt believes Scrabble ought to play an even bigger function in Australian faculties, arguing it combines the attributes of a sport with important literacy and numeracy abilities.
A champion with increased aspirations
His journey is a testomony to the flexibility of a well-recognized board sport to attach languages, international locations and cultures.
Fernando has reached the highest of youth Scrabble, however his ambitions prolong past the board. The teenager is all in favour of math and science and hopes to turn out to be a health care provider sometime. However for now he can revel within the outstanding indisputable fact that lower than a yr in the past he arrived in Australia and is already a world champion. His journey is a testomony to the flexibility of a well-recognized board sport to attach languages, international locations and cultures — and to the affect a teen with focus, self-discipline and a killer vocabulary could make on the world stage.Photos Courtesy: istock ABC Information
