Goemkarponn desk
PANAJI: Goa’s top male tennis player Tejas Shevde won a double at the BPS All-Goa State Ranking Tennis Tournament 2023 at Margao, winning the men’s singles as well as the mixed doubles crowns. Junior tennis ace Tithee Bhoomkar also netted a double, winning the under-14 and under-18 titles in the girls’ category.
Tejas won the final in the men’s singles event (6-0, 6-0) without breaking a sweat against Rajaram Kundaikar. Rajaram had previously defeated Mano Chhabra (6-2, 6-3) to reach
his first-ever final in the men’s event in a state ranking tournament.
Tejas also paired up with Stania Peris in the mixed doubles event to beat Jasmeet Singh and Pranita Pednekar (6-1,6-0) in the finals.
Despite losing the finals in the men’s category, Rajaram, however, managed to win the men’s double’s crown by partnering with Santosh Gorawar. Rajaram and Santosh defeated the pair of Prince Agnelo Joven de Silva and Sandesh Satardekar (6-3,6-0).
Tithee had to come from a set behind to win the crown in the final of the girls’ under-14 category, which faced off-court friend Vidhi Naik. Thrzee lost the first set (1-4) before winning the other two (4-2, 4-2). The two faced off against the girls under-18 age group, with Tithee coming up trumps against (6-0, 6-2).
In the ladies’ singles final, Simran Bundela defeated Pranita Pednekar (4-1,4-1) to win the crown.
Darsh Pai did not lose a single game in his final encounter in the under-14 category against Vivaan Agarwal, winning (4-0, 4-0) in two straight sets. But Pai’s luck ran out in the finals of the boys under-18 category in which he faced Punit Fadte. Punit won the honours in the boys’ under-18 category defeating Darsh in a one-sided encounter (6-1,6-0)
In all, 126 tennis players have registered to participate in the BPS All-Goa State Ranking Tennis Tournament 2023, which has been organised jointly by the prestigious BPS Sports Club in Margao and the Goa State Tennis Association (GSTA). The total prize money for winners of the various categories in the tournament is Rs. 70,000.
