Nihaal Borkar won big at Goa's first pickleball championship held recently at the BPS Club Margao, clinching three titles, namely men’s 35+ doubles, 35+ men’s singles, and 35+ mixed doubles.
PANAJI
Margao-based Nihaal Borkar and Colva’s Simran Bundela made pickleball history in Goa, with the former winning a treble and the latter clinching the open women’s singles title.
Nishad Shevde, another participant to win the treble in the open men's singles category, saw the participation of 22 players. Nishad and Sweta Kantak also went on to win the finals of the open mixed doubles with a score of 11-5,10-12, 11-2. Twenty one teams participated in the men's open doubles category, with the pairing of Nishad Shevde and Ehrlick De Ataide defeating their opponents 11-8, 11-3.
Nihaal won triple crowns by pairing up with Ruta Borker to defeat Ehrlick De Ataide and Natasha Viegas De Ataide in the 35+ mixed doubles category, which saw nine pairs in contention. Nihaal and Ruta lost the first set 10-12, before winning two sets on the trot, 11-7, 11-9, to win the title.
Of the nine teams in the fray in the men’s 35+ doubles category, the summit clash was won by Akhil Lawande and Nihaal Borkar, who defeated Chinmay Kantak and Ehrlick De Ataide 11-6, 11-6. The 35+ men’s singles category saw 11 players in the fray, with Nihaal Borkar defeating Noel Noronha 11-6, 11-5 in two straight sets in the final.
Goa's tennis ace Simran Bundela won the ladies singles category based on cumulative points against her three opponents who had registered to participate in the segment. Simran won the title on the back of 33 points scored and losing six. The scores for the remaining participants were Tvisha Sardesai (26-13), Solania (14-26) and Sumangali (5-33).
The recently concluded three-day championship, the first such event in the state featuring the world's fastest-growing paddle sport of pickleball, was organised at the BPS Club in association with the Goa Pickleball Association and All India Pickleball Association (AIPA).
The men's 50+ doubles category witnessed the participation of nine teams, culminating in a thrilling clash between Lincoln Furtado and Willy Jaques against Clarence Noronha and Noel Noronha, with Clarence and Noel winning the final match 11-3, 7-11, 11-8.
The men’s singles 50+ category saw seven players in the ring, with Noel Noronha defeating Willy Jacques 11-7, 11-6 in the final.
The open ladies doubles category saw four teams participate, with the final clash in the category featuring Audrey Menezes and Melanie Chowgule, who defeated Ruta Borker and Shweta Kantak with a winning score of 11-1.
