Engineer Dipo Akanbi, the man behind my success – Sophie Ekeruche, U-15 Africa Youth champion

…This is the beginning of many more Laurels

By Oluwatobiloba Zeal-Adepetu Kumoye

 

 

 

   Champion, U-15 Africa Youth Scrabble Championship, (AYSC), Sophie Ekeruche, has described, the Chairman of Lagos State Scrabble Association and Monopoly Association, Engineer Dipo Akanbi, as her scrabble pillar and fortress.

She made this statement shortly on arrival from the African Youth Scrabble Championships in Kenya, in an interview with your authoritative and award-winning news channel FIRST ZEALMEDIACAST BLOG .

She explained that Engineer Akanbi introduced her into the mind game and has been supporting her come rain, come shine ever since.

“Firstly, I want to say thank you to Engineer Dipo Akanbi, he has been the one behind my performance at the AYSC, the man did a lot for my scrabble life, he has been there for me,” she said.

Sophie Ekeruche who is a very appreciative and graceful young girl also had some grateful words for the President of the Nigeria Scrabble Federation, (NSF), Engineer Chief Olobatoke Aka.

“I also want to appreciate the President of the Nigeria Scrabble Federation, Engineer Chief Olobatoke Aka, he has also been supporting me,” she added.

She went on to add that she had been training really hard for the Africa Youth Scrabble Championship, and her seamless and terrific outing is only the tip of the iceberg of things to come.

“No pain, no gain. Because I really devoted a lot of hours to this tournament, and it won’t have been funny if after all my hours, I didn’t get results. The more hours you put in, the more results you get, because before coming to this tournament, I was like if an adult scrabble reads for four hours, then I’m to go double the hours. What any scrabbler uses two weeks to learn, I’d master in two days,” she emphasized.

“I’m looking forward to the U-19 category, it will require a lot but I’m looking forward to it, in the next two years,” she added.

In the U-15 category, Sophie Ekeruche went unbeaten, winning 18 games with a massive cumulative points of plus 3871 while Hassan Olojoku came third with 13 victories and 1387 points, behind Kenya’s Kingsley Odhiambo who finished second with 14 wins and plus 583 points.

Before the event, Ekeruche warned hosts, Kenya, that she will not give them breathing space, that she fulfilled to the letter.

“I had given Kenya some warning, the instant we arrived, I told them that I meant business and I lived up to it,” she stressed.

She further explained that her promise to dominate and reign supremacy came under severe attack by her teammate as she narrowly won with plus 16 cumulative points.

“There was a lot of pressure when I faced my teammates, the game was tight, and I was like, I don’t want to drop any games, I later won the game with 16 points, that was the most pressurising game, I faced during the championship,” she concluded.

Eliana Igbe another Nigerian finished among the top 10. Her 12 wins from 18 games with cumulative points of plus 1406 leaves the promising wordsmith in the 6th spot.

The team crown in the U-15 event went to Kenya ahead of Nigeria and Ghana. However, Eliana Igbe won the best U-11 player of the championship.