SUNDAY, MAY 19, 2024
Team Herald
MARGAO:Seventeen-year-old Simran Bundela won a hat-trick of titles in the ladies singles, mixed doubles and U-18 girls category, while 49-year-old Mano Chhabra won the men’s 45+ doubles title and coveted men’s singles title at the Baale BPS Open 2024 - inaugural edition of the State ranking tennis tournament - organised by the BPS Sports Club, Margao, in association with the Goa State Tennis Association at BPS Sports Club court, Margao, recently.
Simran paired up with tennis coach Nishad Shevde to defeat Anna VK and Prince de Silva in a relatively easy final match in the mixed doubles event, 6-1, 6-1. In the U-18 girls, Simran defeated Vidhi Naik 4-0, 4-1, even as the former got a walkover in the ladies singles final, after her rival Anna developed an injury.
In the men’s singles final, Mano defeated Nishad Shevde in a tough encounter, 6-3, 7-5, with the former, who was once ranked number two in the State ranking, finally managing to overcome the Margao-based Shevde, a tennis coach.
In the 45+ men’s doubles final, Ashwin Chandiok paired up with Mano to defeat Sameer Kakodkar and Laxman Iyer 6-0, 6-2. In the men’s doubles finals, Raju Kundaikar and Santosh Gorawar teamed up to defeat Anurag Agrawal and Nishad Shevde 6-4, 6-4.
The newly introduced U-10 event, which received a tremendous response at the State ranking tournament, saw Urvi Panandiker and Ethan de Ataide crowned winners in the girls and boys singles category, respectively. Both the winners did not break a sweat in their respective final matches, with Urvi defeating Ammiel 4-0, while Ethan trounced Devaansh Naik 4-0.
In the U-14 girls final, Tvisha Sardesai beat Avni Lotlikar 4-0, 4-1, while in the boys event in the same age category, Arhan Gaunkar beat Ethan de Ataide 4-0, 4-1. Shreyas Patil won the boys under-18 crown, defeating Darsh Pai 4-1, 4-1.
The men’s 55+ singles final in the veteran’s category was a gruelling affair, with Manoj Pandey facing off against Sameer Kakodkar. Manoj won the first set 7-5, before Sameer fought back to win the next one 6-4, before eventually bowing out 10-8 in the final set.
The men’s 55+ doubles final was also a tough contest between Sameer Kakodkar/Sandeep Verlekar, who faced Jude Cardozo/Caetano Feranandes. Sameer and Sandeep came back from a lost first set to eventually defeat Jude and Caetano Fernandes 3-6, 6-3, 10-4.
The men’s 45+ singles final was another three-set extravaganza, with Dmitry Smirnov coming back from a one-set loss to defeat Ashwin Chandiok 3-6, 6-2 and 10-7.
