Rajya Sabha MP Sadanand Tanavade has taken over as the President of the Goa Lacrosse Association (GLA), marking a significant milestone in the Association’s journey to expand and professionalise lacrosse in the state. He will lead a newly constituted committee comprising Tejendra Lawande as Senior Vice President; Jayesh Naik, Naved Tahasildar and Madhavi Shetye as Vice Presidents; Mangesh Pawar as Secretary; Vrushali Cardozo as Treasurer; Bhargav Dessai as Joint Treasurer; and members Amogh Arlekar, Shamsuddin C.K. and Sudesh Gaonker, with Manoj Patil and Gautam Kharangate serving as Advisors.
Addressing the press, Tanavade outlined his vision for the growth of lacrosse in Goa. He highlighted the early success of the Goa’s boys and girls’ lacrosse teams, both of which clinched silver medals at the National Championships within just two years of the sport being introduced in the state. He emphasised the need to expand lacrosse into schools and every taluka, building a strong grassroots foundation.
Tanavade also stressed the importance of leveraging Goa’s robust sports infrastructure, acknowledging the Goa Government for creating facilities that can be effectively utilised for lacrosse development. He reaffirmed GLA’s alignment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Fit India Mission, noting that lacrosse promotes fitness, teamwork and leadership among youth.
Tanavade concluded by expressing his confidence that Goa, with its sporting culture and organisational capability, can become a major lacrosse destination, eventually hosting national and international events.
The press conference also featured a significant international development. Dmitry Khamin, President of the Russia Lacrosse Federation and two-time World Lacrosse Championship player, announced a proposed India–Russia lacrosse exchange programme, which will enable teams from both nations to visit each other for friendly matches. He will be conducting three to four lacrosse introductory camps for schools across Goa this week, as well as a specialised session for the Goa state players, announced GLA Secretary Mangesh Pawar. Khamin has represented Russia at the World Lacrosse Championships 2014 (USA), 2018 (Israel) and the European Championship 2016 (Hungary).
Gurudatta Bhakta, Secretary General of the Goa Olympic Association, motivated the state’s athletes to pursue excellence with an eye on the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, where lacrosse has been included. He encouraged young athletes to work hard, stay disciplined and seize the opportunity to represent India on the global stage.
Senior Vice-President Tejendra Lawande detailed GLA’s bottom-to-top grassroots development model, starting with school-level introduction of the sport, followed by district-level programmes and culminating in state-level progress.
Secretary Mangesh Pawar announced the continuation of regular weekend training camps at Peddem and Ponda, led by himself and coach Moishe Devappa, and invited children from across Goa to participate.
On the occasion, the Goa Lacrosse Association felicitated the Goa teams that brought glory to the state: the Goa Girls team, winners of the Silver Medal at the Junior Nationals 2024 in Agra, and the Goa Boys team, Silver Medallists at the Sub Junior Nationals 2025, also held in Agra. GLA also highlighted that it is an affiliated unit of the Goa Olympic Association and the Lacrosse Association of India, the National Federation recognised by World Lacrosse and acknowledged by the International Olympic Committee. The National Federation is headed by Ravi Kishan, Member of Parliament from Gorakhpur and prominent film actor.
