Goemkarponn Desk
MARGAO: Ashwin Chandiok defeated Nikunj Gupta to reach the finals of the 45+ men’s singles category, while Manoj Pandey and Sameer Kakodkar will meet in the finals of the 55+ singles event at the ongoing BPS All-Goa State Ranking Tennis Tournament 2023, which is underway at the iconic BPS Sports Club in Margao.
In the men’s 55+ semi-final event, Manoj Pandey blanked out Robert D’Souza (6-0, 6-0) to reach the finals along with Sameer Kakodkar, who easily overcame the challenge by Michael Viegas (6-1, 6-0).
Chandiok beat Gupta in two sets (6-4, 6-2) in the semi-final of the veteran’s event, soon after he made little of the contest against Brian Fernandes in the quarter-finals defeating the latter 6-0. Gupta had advanced to the semi-finals by winning against Kishor Metry (6-2).
In the other quarter-finals in the 45+ men’s category, Dmitry Smirnov defeated Prasad Fadte (6-2), while Noel Noronha vanquished Rajesh Bundela (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).
While the tournament kick-started with the veteran’s matches on Saturday, all other open category tennis matches will commence on May 15 and conclude on May 20.
The total prize money for winners of the various categories in the tournament is Rs. 70,000.
Several top tier tennis players have registered to play for the tournament including Tejas Shevde, Mano Chhabra, while junior champions namely Darsh Pai and Tithee Bhoomkar will also be competing in the event.
