PANAJI
The 1st All Goa Major Ranking Table Tennis Tournament, organised by the Ponda Table Tennis Sports Club in association with the Goa Table Tennis Association, was held at the Sports Complex in Curti, Ponda, on Sunday.
The tournament featured the participation of 17 Para players from across Goa, including 12 wheelchair users and 5 standing category players, marking a significant step towards inclusive sports in the state.
The event exemplified the proper implementation of inclusion by integrating Para athletes into a mainstream ranking tournament. This aligns with the legal responsibility to promote and support Para sports under national and international disability rights frameworks. The Para category was coordinated by senior Para athlete Vishant Nagvekar, who also competed in the event. He expressed gratitude to the organisers for making their very first tournament accessible and inclusive, noting that such efforts enable Para athletes to compete on equal footing and showcase their abilities and sporting excellence.
Arrangements for wheelchairs and a portable ramp at the venue—specifically for the wheelchair players—were facilitated by the Disability Alliance for Inclusive Goa, an NGO committed to promoting Para sports, fostering inclusion and accessibility, and advocating for the rights of persons with disabilities across Goa.
In the standing category, Alex Albuquerque emerged victorious, defeating Gopal Naik in straight sets (11-4, 11-7) in the final. In the wheelchair category, Moises Rodrigues won the final match against Stany Dsouza in a thrilling contest (11-7, 11-9), which was among the highlights of the event.
Other participants in the standing category included Prasand Sawant, Rayansh Sawant, and Niklesh Pednekar. The wheelchair category saw spirited participation from Dharmesh Kuri, Santosh Aigal, Pramod Gaude, Mithun Shirodkar, Vishant Nagvekar, Durgadas Gaunekar, Mahesh Pagadala, Camilo Silvester Gracias, Durgadas Naik, and Sadaf Fatima.
The successful inclusion of Para players in the first major ranking tournament of the season, organised by the Ponda Table Tennis Sports Club, has set a positive example for future events in Goa and beyond. It reaffirmed the commitment of sports bodies to promote equality and provide platforms for persons with disabilities to participate, perform, and excel alongside their counterparts without disabilities.
