PANAJI
The 6th Dr. Filipe Pinto Memorial All-Goa Table Tennis Tournament commenced on Saturday, at Clube Tennis de Gaspar Dias.
Organized by Kabir Pinto Makhija and supported by the Goa Table Tennis Association (GTTA), the tournament’s inauguration saw Sudin Verenker, President of GTTA, veteran player Shivaji Desai, Mayur Sawkar, Edwin de Menezes, Vice President of GTTA, and Dinesh Sinari, President of GVTTA, all in attendance.
In the first round of Group 1, the competition quickly heated up. Mahesh Talwadkar and Prashant Kamat showed no mercy as they breezed past Daniel Pinto and Munir Khan with a commanding 3-0 victory. Meanwhile, the pairing of Sachin Soares and Shirish Patil found themselves tested but ultimately triumphed over Jesus D’Costa and Kashinath Khalap in a nail-biting 3-2 encounter. Other notable performances came from Joseph Sequeira and Milind Salkar, who defeated Satish Agrahar and Mazhar Nazir 3-1, and Yusuf Sheikh and Xisto Fernandes, who cruised to a 3-0 victory against Gaurish Burye and Savio D'Cruz.
The second group brought its own share of excitement and surprises. John Pinto and Geeta Washington delivered a spectacular 3-0 victory over Satish Namshikar and Roselyn Buniyan, showing remarkable teamwork and skill. Jeffery Pereira and Laxman Nadkarni followed suit with a flawless 3-0 win against Samina Beig and Hanisha Gopani, leaving little to chance.
As the semi-finals loomed, the intensity rose. Soares and Patil displayed impeccable coordination, dispatching Talwadkar and Kamat 3-0 with clinical precision. Likewise, Sheikh and Fernandes kept their momentum going, overpowering Sequeira and Salkar with a dominant 3-0 win.
In one of the tightest battles of the day, Joe Douarte and Hemant Ramani edged past Tanay Kaisare and Binu Jose 3-2, while Ferdinand Rodrigues and Euclid Heredia saw off Akshay Chodankar and Viraj Mauzekar with a commanding 3-0 scoreline.
