PANAJI
Ishita Colaso and Chandan Caro produced standout performances in the semifinals of the Late Manohar Sawkar Goa State Table Tennis Tournament 2025, placing themselves on course for a quadruple crown and triple crown, respectively, at the Multipurpose Stadium, Fatorda.
The duo dominated across age groups, while several emerging talents also sealed multiple final berths.
In the U11 category, Boys top seed Ishaan Colaso scraped past Shreysht Rane 3-2, and third seed Aarish Shaikh edged Ashank Dalvi 3-2. Among the Girls, top seed Anaya Shukla defeated Aarna Walavalkar 3-1, and Shaurya Dessai breezed past sixth seed Sanaz Shaikh 3-0.
The U13 section saw Boys top seed Ruhaan Shaikh beat Ishaan Colaso 3-0, while third seed Yug Prabhu got the better of Vedant Wagle 3-2. In the Girls semis, top seed Aarna Lotlikar survived a 3-2 battle against Tisha Shaikh, before Sachi Dessai stunning second seed Aayushi Amonkar 3-0.
In the U15 Boys, top seed Chandan Caro powered past Yug Prabhu 3-0, with Dhruva Kamat defeating third seed Ruhaan Shaikh 3-0. The Girls U15 semis saw top seed Ishita Colaso downing Tisha Shaikh 3-1, while fifth seed Sachi Dessai rallied to beat Aarna Lotlikar 3-2.
Chandan continued to dominate in U17, edging Ruhaan Shaikh 3-2, while second seed Dhruva overcame Rishan Shaikh 3-1. In the Girls bracket, Ishita eased past Samaira Soares 3-0, and Neeza Kamat ousted fourth seed Gianna George 3-0.
In U19 Boys, Chandan proved too strong for Dhruva in a 3-0 win, and Aaron Farias beat third seed Rishan 3-1. Ishita maintained her flawless run in the Girls U19 with a 3-0 victory over Sanisha Sinha, as Neeza fought past Samaira 3-2.
In the senior categories, Men’s Singles top seed Aaron toppled Rishan Shaikh 4-1, while Manish Yadav produced a thrilling 4-3 upset of second seed Chandan. In the Women’s Singles, Ishita posted a clean 3-0 win over Anushri Naik before Urvi Surlakar shocked Neeza with a 3-2 comeback.
Organizing the FIDE World Cup is a big milestone for Indian chess: GM Dibyendu Barua
PANAJIIn Goa, for the final of the FIDE World Cup 2025 that concluded recently, India’s second GM Dibyendu Barua remarked that organizing the event in the country was a fantastic achievement.“It is a big milestone for Indian chess. In this World Cup, we saw more than 200 players participate in a knockout format which is very difficult to play. It is easy to criticise. But when players are playing, they have to keep their nerves cool and stay focussed. Many times, top players…
