PANAJI
Bhatikar Model High School edged out Manovikas High School 3–2 in the Boys’ final to emerge champions, while Manovikas High School outclassed Sharada Mandir High School 3–0 in the Girls’ final, as the Vishnu Sinai Dempo Memorial All Goa Inter School Invitational Table Tennis Tournament concluded in rousing fashion at the Indoor Stadium, Campal.
The day long inter-school edition, organised by the Panaji Morning Stars Sports Club in collaboration with Dempo Royals, featured 16 schools, 28 teams and 103 players. The Boys’ final turned out to be a gripping encounter, with Bhatikar's Yug Prabhu going down narrowly to Ruhaan Shaikh 2–3 in the opening match. Bhatikar bounced back strongly as Chandan Caro defeated Ishaan Colaco 3–0. Dhruv Kanji went down to Aarav Devgan 1-3 in the third rubber. Chandan Caro then produced a commanding performance to beat Ruhaan Shaikh 3–0, and Yug Prabhu sealed the thrilling 3–2 victory with a composed 3–1 win against Ishaan Colaco. Risham Rao was also part of the winning squad and played his role in the earlier rounds.
In the Girls’ final, Manovikas High School stamped their authority from the outset, with Pradnya Caro defeating Shreya Phadte 3–0, followed by Ishita Colaco’s 3–0 win over Anaya Srivastava and Aarna Lotlikar sealing the tie with a 3–0 victory against Erin Da Costa. Sanisha Sinha too contributed with commendable performances in the earlier matches. Sharada Mandir B Squad (Inara D’Souza, Kavyaa Khalap and Ruhi Nachinolkar) in the Girls, and Sharada Mandir A (Vivaan Prabhudesai, Bhaavan Srivastava and Kaushik Nair) in the Boys finished third, while Nilaya Walavalkar and Zakir Mulla won the Promising Player awards.
