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Five players from Sri Lanka played the 5th Sri Lanka Club International Tournament held on Friday, 18th October 2002 in Manama Bahrain. The participants were Lakshan Wanniarachchi (All Island Champion 2002), Shaila Amalean (All Island Champion 2001), Sivanesan Saeyorn, Thiruchenduran and Rizak.

Two thirds of the participants in this prestigious tournament were from outside Bahrain. Among the most formidable competitors were Chris Abordo (Gulf Champion), Salah Salih (Gulf No. 2), Mario Ranasuriya (Gulf No. 6), Ricky Gonzalez (Gulf No. 3), Charles Caneiro (Gulf No. 4), Selwyn Lobo (Gulf No. 8), Ishtiaq Chishty (Saudi Arabia) and other national champions and world class players.

Dr. Karl Khoshnaw, a Britain based maths teacher who has played in most world Scrabble Championships and made it into the Guinness Book of world records 20 years ago was another interesting and formidable competitor. Dr. Khoshnaw still holds the record for the highest score of 392 points in a single move for the word 'caziques'.

Salah Salih of Dhahran, Saudi Arabia won all 7 games to pick up the Power Horse Crystal Trophy at the SLCISO held at the Bahrain Hilton. Selwyn Lobo of the UAE was runner-up, followed by Ishtiaq Chrishty of Saudi Arabia in 3rd place, Chris Abordo in 4th place, Lakshan Wanniarachchi in 5th place, Mahaboob Khan in 6th place, Shaila Amalean in 7th place, Wone Mamadon in 8th place, Shafique Ahamed in 9th place and Sanjeev Srijayam in 10th place.

Mario Ranasuriya of Bahrain picked up prizes for Best Move, Highest Score, Highest Number of Bonus Words, and Best Sri Lanka Club Member. Teenager Sherwin Rodrigues of Oman won the trophy for the Highest Word Score (122 points for "nartjies"). 16 year old Ranasuriya of Bahrain won the trophy for the Highest Score of 627 points. Lahiru Elvitigala aged 9, of Bahrain was cited the youngest player while Lakshan Wanniarachchi received a trophy for best Sri Lankan player and Saila Amalean was adjudged the Most Outstanding Woman Competitor. Sivanesan Saeyorn picked up a spot prize for the word "anorexia" for the Highest Word Score using the letter X.

Seven of the eight prizes in the Early-Bird doubles competition at the Hilton on Thursday, 17th October were swept away by visiting players. Saila Amalean (Sri Lanka) and Shiraz Amith (Bahrain) won the competition with Shaila being the only player to win all 5 games. Charles Carneiro and Selwyn Lobo (UAE) were runners-up while Ishtiaz Chishty and Salah Salih (Saudi Arabia) were placed third. Topping Division B were Shafique Ahamed and Mahaboob Khan also from Saudi Arabia. The Early-Bird Tournament was organised by Chris Abordo and Mario Ranasuriya of the Bahrain Scrabble League and served as a 'warm up' for the gruelling 7 match Open International Tournament the following day.

Roy Kietzman was the tournament director and the tournament was organised by Shiraz Amith and his team. The Sri Lankan players were hosted by members of the Sri Lanka Club in Bahrain and enjoyed true Sri Lankan hospitality. The players were sponsored by MAS Holdings (Pvt) Limited, Emirates, Abans, Hotmeals (Pvt) Limited, Lions Club of Colombo East and well-wishers.

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Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
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