Standard Chartered Bank’s Martins Mutahi and seed 14 Fred Magu have been added to the national scrabble team that will represent the country at the third World English-language Scrabble Players Association Championships starting today to Sunday in Goa, India.
The two will join Allan Oyende, Nderitu Gitonga and Onani Magwanga to fill Kenya’s quota of five. They take up slots originally held by Bernard Koyyoko and Patrick Litunya. The team left the country on Saturday for India.
While the initial team of three sponsored their trip to India, Mutahi, Kenya’s seed seven has been sponsored by his employer while Magu, who had already planned to travel to participate in the side tournaments of the Championships, landed the chance to play in the main showpiece.
SK boss Bernard Amuke is positive the team of five will put up their ‘A’ game to ensure Kenya either retain their current quota or boost the numbers.
“They all are very good players and we are hopeful they will put up a good game to ensure we retain our slots at the next WESPA Championships,” stated Amuke.
Other players who also left for Goa are SK vice-chairman Kipkemboi Limo, Dr Akinyi Wenwa, John Sang and Mwema Muumbi.
They will play in side-tournaments including First Gear and Last Chance qualifiers, Goa One Day International, Indian Open and Final Frenzy Pro-Am.
Oyende, who is ranked 25th in the world, looks forward to regaining a top 15 WESPA ranking. He, however, acknowledged that the field at the worlds is usually unpredictable.
“I have prepared well and I’m very hopeful I will do very well and improve my ranking and the team’s average score. Players at the world stage are very unpredictable but that is what spices up the competitions. For me, I’ll endeavour to rake in wins early in the competitions to stand a better chance,” said Oyende who in 2015 WESPA Championships ranked 14th.
