Staff Reporter
Panaji
Punit Fadte stole the spotlight at the Bandodkar Panjim Gymkhana Open 2025, storming into the semifinals of both the Men’s Singles and Boys U-18 categories with dominant displays on Wednesday.
Punit breezed past top seed Siddharth Nunes with a clinical 6-1 win in the Men’s Singles quarterfinals, before blanking Devaansh Naik 6-0 in the U-18 quarters to continue his red-hot form at the state-ranking tournament.
Joining him in the last four of the Men’s Singles is Santosh Gorawar, who survived a spirited fight from Tanay Amonkar to edge through 6-3. Earlier in the pre-quarters, Nagesh Naik battled past Pankaj Nanoskar 6-4, while Prince D’Silva and Raju Kundaikar sealed their quarterfinal spots with wins over Lyndon Pinto (6-3) and Kedar Tari (6-2), respectively.
In mixed doubles, Tithee Bhoomkar and Raju Kundaikar made quick work of Junette Rodrigues and Kane Pereira, cruising to a 6-0 victory. Asuntha Fleming and Nagesh Naik mirrored the scoreline against Anindita Sarwate and Gary Steele, while Tomoyo Fujita and Prajat Halankar overwhelmed Lianne Ribeiro and Eugene D’Souza with another 6-0 rout. The girls U-14 semifinals witnessed Bhaavya Bhoomkar dismantling Ahana 4-1, 4-0 to set up a mouth-watering title clash with Tvisha Sardesai, who held her nerve in a tight 4-1, 4-3(4) win over Urvi Panandikar. In the boys U-14, Kyan Mavany powered into the final with a 4-3(2), 4-0 win against Ethan Ataide.
Youngsters showcased their mettle across age groups. In the girls U-10 category, Samaira Patil, Aaliya Metry, and Subaghya Manda recorded commanding victories. Meanwhile, Jai Mehta edged Kabir Thapar in a tense boys U-10 encounter, winning 7-6(4) in a tie-break thriller.
Men’s doubles action saw Rajaram Paiginkar and Kyan Mavany crush Arhan Gaunkar and Krishna Volvoikar 6-0, while Prajat Halankar and Avadhut Palekar got past Cherian Joseph and Sarvesh Bhobe 6-3.
In the 45+ singles category, veteran Caetano Fernandes held his nerve to overcome Navin Cardoz in a three-set nail-biter, 6-4, 0-6, 10-6, sealing his spot in the final.
