~ The third edition of the state-level tournament began at the Panjim Gymkhana and Clube Tennis de Gaspar Dias Courts.
Goa Khabar : The third edition of the Bandodkar Panjim Gymkhana Tennis Open 2026 got underway at the Panjim Gymkhana courts in the state capital, with several matches played in the men’s 45+ singles category 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 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 Narahar Thakur, Vice president, Panjim Gymkhana Sameer Kakodkar, President of the Goa State Tennis Association (GSTA), 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.
Kakodkar also thanked Director of Sports and Youth Affairs Arjun Gaude for attending as chief guest and supporting the association’s efforts to promote tennis, and expressed gratitude to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant for his continued support to the sport in the state.
“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.
The Bandodkar Panjim Gymkhana Tennis Open, which honours the legacy of Goa’s first Chief Minister Dayanand Bandodkar, continues over the coming days, with 247 players scheduled to play in matches across multiple categories.
