PANAJI
Bhaavya Bhoomkar kept her impressive run alive across three categories at the Bandodkar Panjim Gymkhana Tennis Open 2025, storming into the semi-finals of the girls u-14 and reaching the quarter-finals in both the girls u-18 and ladies singles events. She is now set to face her elder sister, top seed Tithee Bhoomkar, in what promises to be a fiery family face-off in the ladies singles quarter-finals.
Bhaavya kept her momentum going with a composed 6-2 win over Liza George in the ladies singles. Tithee, too, had little trouble as she eased past Samara Sequeira 6-1 to set up the much-anticipated sibling showdown. In other ladies singles matches, Asuntha Fleming blanked Renee De Menezes 6-0, Aastha Dua beat Deeva Sahni 6-3, Poojal Naik swept past Avni Lotlikar 6-0 and Kimberly Cabral was dominant in a 6-0 win over Devyani Desai. Raisa Menezes also progressed, defeating Archana Desai 6-1.
In the boys u-14 quarter-finals, Shaurya Verlekar powered past Vedant Naik 6-2, while Arhan Gaunkar pulled off a tight 7-5 win over Adianta Devaraya. Ethan Ataide was sharp in a 6-1 win against Devaansh Naik and Kyan Mavany stormed past Alec Barreto 6-0.
In the boys u-18 category, Punit Fadte dominated Krishna Volvoikar 6-0 and Devaansh Naik edged out Vidaal De Menezes 6-4.
The men’s singles segment saw Prajat Halankar post a 6-3 win over Rehaan Diaz, Siddharth Nunes beat Krishna Volvoikar 6-1, Santosh Gorawar got the better of Bhalchandra Gaitonde 6-2 and Punit Fadte rolled past Joshua Cardozo 6-1. Tanay Amonkar took the spotlight with a composed 6-4 win over Shreyas Patil.
In men’s doubles, Rahul Pinto and Joao Mergulhao were clinical in a 6-1 win over Cesar Costa and Gary Steele. Naveen Daivajna and Neville Menezes blanked Vikrant Karandikar and Suraj Pombra 6-0, while James Darbar and Allan Fernandes edged Neenad Desai and Vinod Chandra 7-5. Ojaswi Mann and Saurish Naik took down James Stewart and Satya Stewart 6-2 and Tanay Amonkar partnered Manoj Pandey to beat Joshua Cardozo and Kane Pereira 6-1.
In the masters 45+ singles, Dmitry Smirnov delivered a commanding semi-final performance, defeating Pralay Bakshi 6-0, 6-1. Earlier, Caetano Fernandes edged Vinit Dixit 6-4 in a closely fought quarter-final.
The tournament will continue at Panjim Gymkhana courts till April 13, with standout performances across all age groups keeping tennis enthusiasts on their toes.
