Sarah Jane Cua: Honed By Constant Practice
Sarah Jane Cua of the Philippines won the Brand's Sudoku Challenge 2008 Asia Pacific Open held in Singapore from July 11-13. This 14 year old student at the Pangasinan Universal Institute says that her victory was a result of speed and practice. 

As soon as she arrived in Singapore, she invited her mother to go shopping for Sudoko books. She is said to practice everywhere -- even while traveling. No wonder she's a champion! Practice always makes you better in what you're doing.

"Use your gifts faithfully, and they shall be enlarged; practice what you know and you shall attain to higher knowledge." (Matthew Arnold) 

For those who do not have an idea of what Sudoku is, it is a single number placement puzzle. The player's objective is to fill a 9x9 grid with the digits 1 to 9. Each row, column and 3x3 blocks should not have any digit appearing twice. 

The first time I tried Sudoku, I felt like I was going to come down with a flu (no kidding). It's a good thing though that early in life, I've decided that having that feeling just means one thing -- I need to practice more. Practice until it becomes natural, no longer a chore.

Congratulations to Sarah Jane, her family and her mentors from the Mathematics Trainers' Guild-Philippines!

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