Mano Chhabra won the men’s title with a superb victory over Nishad Shevde in the final; while Simran Bundela bagged the ladies singles, under-18 and mixed doubles crown at the 1st Baale BPS Open 2024 tennis tournament that concluded at BPS Sports Club, Margao, on Sunday night. A record 215 registrations poured in for the state ranking tournament, organised by BPS Sports Club under the aegis of Goa State Tennis Association.
Mano, who also clinched 45+ doubles title partnering Ashwin Chandiok, proved that he is a class apart when it comes to the Goan tennis circuit.
Mano, 49, overcame the challenge of a much-younger Nishad Shevde in the final 6-4, 7-5. The experienced Mano displayed a pleasing brand of tennis, with delightful serves and exquisite volleys, while also combating his rival’s powerful down the line passing shots with clinical precision.
Mano, who hit rollicking form in the exciting semi-final against Siddharth Nunes, continued in the same fashion in the title clash with Nishad also looking pumped up for the occasion. However, the young man made too many unforced errors and failed to create the momentum for a fightback despite getting on an even keel (5-5) in the second set.
Earlier, Nishad partnered 17-year-old
Simran to outplay Anna VK and Prince de Silva 6-1, 6-1 in mixed doubles final.
Simran also walked away with the singles title as Anna forfeited the final due to an injury sustained in the marathon semis victory over Tanya. In the under-18 final, Simran proved too good for Vidhi Naik 4-0, 4-1.
The men’s doubles final was a fiesty affair as Panaji-based duo Raju Kundaikar/Santosh Gorawar upset the local pairing of Anurag Agrawal and Nishad Shevde 6-4, 6-4.
Other results: U-10: Urvi Panandiker beat Ammiel, Ethan de Ataide beat Devaansh Naik; Under-14: Tvisha Sardesai beat Avni Lotlikar, Arhan Gaunkar beat Ethan de Ataide; Under-18: Shreyas Patil beat Darsh Pai; 45+ men’s singles: Dmitry Smirnov beat Ashwin Chandiok 3-6, 6-2, 10-7; 45+ doubles – Ashwin Chandiok/Mano Chhabra beat Sameer Kakodkar/Laxman Iyer 6-0, 6-2; 55+ singles: Manoj Pandey beat Sameer Kakodkar 7-5, 4-6, 10-8; 55+ doubles: Sameer Kakodkar/Sandeep Verlekar beat Jude Cardozo/Caetano Feranandes 3-6, 6-3, 10-4.
