Urvi, Pralay Shine; Sanjay-David Reach Final in 55+ Doubles 

Goa Khabar : Urvi Panandiker put on a commanding performance in the girls under-14 quarter-finals at the ongoing Bandodkar Panjim Gymkhana Tennis Open 2025, defeating Sofia Sanchez Buhariwala  6-2 to seal her place in the semis of the state-ranking tournament. Earlier in the same category, Ammiel Fernandes beat Naimah Sharma 6-3, Tvisha Sardesai and Sofia Sanchez dispatched their respective opponents Mia Seqeira and Aashi Munshi 6-0. 

In the masters 45+ men’s singles quarter-finals, Pralay Bakshi edged out Rohan Lotlikar in a tight contest 7-5, while Manoj Pandey advanced with a 6-3 win over Navin Cardoz. In the pre-quarters, Caetano Fernandes defeated Naveen Daivajna 6-1. Dmitry Smirnov defeated James Darbar  6-1 in the quarter finals of the same category.

In the 55+ men’s doubles semi-finals, Sanjay Shinde and David Mendonsa made a statement with a ruthless 6-0, 6-0 victory over Suresh T. and Unnikrishnan A.S. to enter the finals of the category.

In the ongoing men’s singles first-round matches, Anurag Agarwal dominated Rahul Agarwal 6-0, Kedar Tari beat Rajaram Paiginkar 6-2, Shreyas Patil toppled Pralay Bakshi 6-2 and Nikunj Gupta breezed past Aymer Fernandes 6-2. Other winners included Tanay Amonkar (6-0 vs. Adianta Devaraya), Sujit Sahoo (6-1 vs. KS Sunil), Navin Cardoz (6-2 vs. Sandesh Satardekar), Neenad Desai (6-2 vs. Amulya Sethi) and Ganesh Vernekar (6-0 vs. Dhiraj Phadte). Rugved Bandekar edged K.S. Anil 6-4, Bidwan Sekhar won 6-2 over Saurabh Khanna and Sanjay Varak overcame Sarvesh Bhobe 7-5 in a tight finish.

In the boys under-14 pre-quarterfinals, Kyan Mavany defeated Arsh Sardesai 6-1, Adianta Devaraya blanked Rafael Shankar 6-0 and Alec Barreto shut out Cesar Costa 6-0. Earlier, Arsh Sardesai had beaten Adam Godinho 6-1, Timofei Polosin edged Vihaan Krishnan 6-4 and Aymer Fernandes defeated Satya Stewart 6-2. Zubinn Negi and Cesar Costa, Ethan Ataide, Rafael Shankar and Vidaal De Menezes also progressed with strong wins.

In the ladies doubles, Junette Rodrigues and Kimberly Cabral blanked Mia Sequeira and Samara Sequeira 6-0, while in the singles, Devyani Desai beat Krislyn Dias 6-3. Avni Lotlikar received a walkover against Tomoyo Fujita to move ahead.

In the 55+ men’s singles quarter-final, Noel Noronha beat Santosh Fondekar 6-2 to progress to semi-finals.

The tournament, which honours Goa’s first Chief Minister Dayanand Bandodkar, continues at Panjim Gymkhana till April 13, with a record 266 entries vying for top honours across categories.