Dineth Fernando, a 14‑year‑old boy who moved to Australia less than a year ago, has won the World Youth Scrabble Championship in Nairobi this week.
According to a report by ABC News, Dineth, originally from Sri Lanka and now based in Melbourne, triumphed over 140 competitors from across the globe.
He credited his success to a disciplined routine of practising 200 words a day from the official Scrabble dictionary. “All the hard work paid off,” he said after the victory.
The teenager, for whom English is a second language, explained that Scrabble has helped him settle into life in Australia and make new friends.
He first discovered the game at age eight through school competitions, later competing in national championships in 2022 and 2024. His win at the Australian Youth Scrabble Championship in July 2026 inspired him to take part in the world event.
Dineth noted that Scrabble is highly popular in Sri Lanka, with schools running competitive clubs and youth players training rigorously to qualify for the national team. Despite his achievements in wordplay, he hopes to pursue a career in medicine, with a strong interest in mathematics and science.
His father, Prasanna Fernando, a medical doctor in Sri Lanka before relocating to Australia in February, said the family was proud of Dineth’s accomplishment, especially given the 25‑hour journey to Kenya, which was complicated by regional tensions.
“It feels as if it’s a dream. I knew that he would one day win it, but it’s still surreal,” he said. He added that taking the risk to travel at the last moment had paid off.
Mr. Fernando also credited Dineth’s coach, Rashid Sudin, for guiding his son’s development over several years. (Newswire/ ABC News)