MARGAO
Lincoln Furtado emerged champion in the Men’s Singles 60+ category, while defending champions Nihaal Borkar and Ruta Borkar successfully retained the 35+ Mixed Doubles title on the opening day of the BPS Open Pickleball Championship 2026 at the BPS Sports Club, Margao.
In the Men’s Singles 60+ final, Lincoln Furtado defeated James Anderson 11“4 to clinch the title. Earlier in the semi-finals, Anderson had edged past Parag Joshi 15“12, while Lincoln overcame Savio Vales by an identical 15“12 margin. In round-robin matches, Anderson defeated Capt. Ravi Peris 11“7 and Lincoln 11“8, Parag Joshi beat Shailendra Singh 11“4, Savio Vales defeated Parag Joshi 11“6 and Shailendra Singh 11“1, while Lincoln also beat Capt. Ravi Peris 11“2.
The 35+ Mixed Doubles final saw Nihaal Borkar and Ruta Borkar register a hard-fought 11“8, 10“12, 11“9 win over Immanuel Rohan and Audrey Menezes. In the semi-finals, Immanuel Rohan and Audrey Menezes defeated James Anderson and Jen Noronha 11“7, while Nihaal and Ruta Borkar progressed after Nishant Verghese and Gitanjli Chauhan retired while trailing 12“5.
Earlier rounds witnessed Nishant Verghese and Gitanjli Chauhan defeating Chirag Sukerkar and Karishma Verlekar 11“8, Immanuel Rohan and Audrey Menezes overcoming Nihaal Borkar and Ruta Borkar 11“8, and Nishant and Gitanjli registering an 11“1 win over James Anderson and Jen Noronha. James Anderson and Jen Noronha later edged Chirag Sukerkar and Karishma Verlekar 12“10.
The three-day BPS Open Pickleball Championship 2026 is being held at the BPS Sports Club, Margao, in association with the Goa Pickleball Association, with multiple age-group and open-category events scheduled across February 6“8.
