BY ADEYEMI ROBINSON-ADEFIOYE , LAGOS
Members of Team Nigeria on Saturday departed the country for GOA, INDIA where the WORLD ENGLISH LANGUAGE SCRABBLE PLAYERS ASSOCIATION CHAMPIONSHIP (WESPAC) will hold from the 15 to 21 of this month in the Asian country.
The contingent which includes 11 of the best scrabble players in the country left the NNAMDI AZIKWE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT this morning aboard an ETHIOPIA AIRLINE to MUMBAI VIA DOHA.
Top-ranked Nigerian qualifier for the tournament ETA KARO with 2015 Champion WELLINGTON JIGHERE and 2017 finalist MOSES PETER are among the strong team members aiming for glory at the global scrabble show piece which holds every two years.
Other members of the team are; former national champion OLATUNDE ODUWOLE who won the PA DUROJAYE RETREAT last month, DENNIS IKEKEREGOR, EMMANUEL UMUJOSE, ENOCH NWALI, OSHEVIRE AVWENAGHA, NSIKAK ETIM, QUICKPEN BEN and AFOLAYAN BUKUNMI who is the only woman in the team.
National team coach PRINCE TONY IKOLO and former President of the NIGERIA SCRABBLE FEDERATION, TOKE AKA as well as some players who are hoping to get into the main event through the Last Chance Qualifiers tournament also joined the trip despite the initial funding setback faced by the team.
About 57 countries including Australia and USA will feature at the tournament where Nigeria is the current best team title holder but narrowly missed out on the individual title when MOSES PETER was defeated by AKSHAY BHANDARKA of BAHRAIN in the final in NAIROBI, KENYA two years ago.
