We have improved our game a lot, says Baig

Pakistan scrabble players look forward to competing at WYSC in Dubai.

KARACHI: Moizullah Baig has set his eyes on the World Youth Scrabble Championship (WYSC) as the Pakistan team leaves for Dubai on Tuesday in hopes of lifting the title at the three-day event. The 16-year-old Moiz finished third at the National Ranking Tournament behind Waseem Khatri and Muhammad Inayatullah last month. He said that he is expecting the 18-member team to win the championship.

Pakistan finished fifth in the WYSC 2012 in Birmingham.

“We can win the championship as each one of us has worked hard on improving our game for the last two months,” Baig told The Express Tribune.

“I’ve been practicing a lot since July. We use game software and also play tournaments every Saturday to make sure that we learn new words.”

Baig currently studies at the DJ Science College; he said that his passion for playing scrabble has given him the chance to represent Pakistan internationally.

Another squad member Mariam Arif said that her aim will be to represent Pakistan in a befitting manner in an international platform.

“We can win because we are more confident this time,” said Mariam. “There is some pressure, but it’s going to help us perform better.”

Muhammad Inshal, who participated in the World Scrabble Championship in Prague along with Khatri and Inayatullah, is expected to be the strongest competitor in the squad. He will join the youth squad in Dubai.

He finished the World Championship in 66th place among 110 players in the event. Meanwhile, Khatri ended his campaign in the 44th position with 16 wins in Prague.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 9^th, 2013.

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