Inayatullah clinches title at scrabble event

Pakistan player finishes first in Division II category in Malaysia.

KARACHI: Muhammad Inayatullah clinched the Division II title at the Penang International Scrabble Championship 2013 after winning 22 out of 31 games and finishing with a spread of +1,346 in Malaysia.

On the final day of the event, Inayatullah won four out of seven matches, defeating Indonesia’s Julius Wilson who finished second.

Inayatullah bagged a prize money of 3,000Ringgits after winning the 50-player division.

Meanwhile, four other Pakistan players finished among the top 10. Sixteen-year-old Moizullah Baig finished fourth with 20 wins and a tally of +645 in the competition. He defeated Thailand’s Yannakit Sirisup 455-410 and Albert Martono 482-429 on the final day.

Javeria Mirza secured seventh place with 18 wins in 31 rounds, while Tariq Pervez and Shahzaib Khatri finished in ninth and 10th positions respectively.

“Pakistan dominated the championship,” Pakistan scrabble team captain Tariq Pervez told The Express Tribune. “Everyone was talking about our players at the closing ceremony. They were highly impressed because players from China, Malaysia, Singapore and Australia never expected our players to be so good at English Language.

“While Inayatullah’s victory is commendable, we need to understand that it’s time for the older players to coach the teenagers in our squad.”

Khatri finishes sixth

In the Elite Masters category, four-time national champion Waseem Khatri finished the in sixth place at the 26-player Division I, registering 20 wins out of 35. New Zealand’s Nigel Richards won the event.

Pervez said Khatri will improve with time and needed to take part in more international events.

“Waseem was the youngest in his category and young players take time to improve. He’s our best player at the moment,” said Pervez.

The 18-member Pakistan will now compete in the King’s Cup in Bangkok.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 8^th, 2013.

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