PANAJI
In a historic moment for Indian Scrabble, 14-year-old Madhav Gopal Kamath from Delhi has won the 2025 World Youth Scrabble Championship (WYSC), becoming the first Indian ever to claim a major global Scrabble title.
Madhav, India’s highest-ranked Scrabble player in the world and the reigning national champion, emerged victorious among 218 under-18 players from 18 countries at the 20th edition of the annual tournament held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, organised by the World English-Language Scrabble Players Association (WESPA). Madhav clinched the championship in the penultimate round, finishing with an impressive 21 wins from 24 rounds.
Like every year, India sent a strong contingent to WYSC, comprising 12 of the country’s best youth Scrabble players, seven boys and five girls, mentored by Mumbai-based player and coach Neeta Bhatia. Among them, 15-year-old Suyash Manchali from Bengaluru, runner-up at last year’s edition in Sri Lanka, secured fifth place with 17 wins.
The Indian contingent was supported by the Essar Foundation, in partnership with the Scrabble Association of India (SAI) and Wordaholix.
Earlier this year, Madhav became the youngest ever national champion by winning the 25th National Scrabble Championship in Mumbai, and he is currently ranked 8th in the world across all ages.
