Irineu Gonsalves used to play football at the state level. He now owns his own pharmacy in Verna, a village in south Goa. His passion, however, lies elsewhere — in his love for words; a passion that drove him to become this year’s national Scrabble champion. The fifty-three-old tells us about what it’s like to get into a battle of words with professionals. Excerpts from the interview:

Illustration/ Amit Bandre