The third edition of the Bandodkar Panjim Gymkhana Tennis Open 2026 got underway at the Panjim Gymkhana courts in Panaji, with several matches played in the men’s 45+ singles and boys under14 categories on the opening day.
Kalyanaraman B registered a dominant 6-0 win over Sunil Signapurkar, while Noel Noronha defeated Allan Fernandes 6-3. Caetano Fernandes also secured a 6-3 victory over Sudhir Bavkar.
In the other matches, Kishor Metry beat Marcus D’Costa 6-2, while Neville Menezes and Manoj Pandey recorded convincing 6-0 wins over Akhil Pavithran and Vickram Bedi, respectively. Anurag Agrawal got the better of Jai Gill 6-4, and Kapil Nair defeated Saurabh Khanna 6-1. Oscar cruised past Harry Dhanoa 6-0, while Naveen Daivajna defeated Neenad Desai 6-2. Kedar Palekar beat Anup Sardesai 6-1, and James Stewart blanked T K Kulkarni 6-0. In another match, Shubert Colaco overcame Suraj Pombra 6-2. Sameer Kakodkar edged past Rohan Lotlikar in a closely contested match, winning 7-6, while Kedar Tari, who received a bye, progressed to the next round.
The tournament was inaugurated in the presence of Sameer Kakodkar, President of the Goa State Tennis Association (GSTA), Narahar Thakur, Vice-President, Panjim Gymkhana; and Sachin Dukle secretary GSTA, Santosh Fondekar, Vice-president North GSTA and Sanjay Shinde, member GSTA.
Speaking on the occasion, Sameer Kakodkar said the tournament continues to grow as a competitive platform for players across Goa. “The response this year has been encouraging, with players from different age groups participating. Events like this help strengthen the sport at the grassroots while offering players valuable match experience,” he said.
“The opening day saw strong participation and competitive matches across categories. The response to this year’s edition has been encouraging, and we expect the level of competition to build further as the tournament progresses,” Sandeep Heble, tournament director also said.
