– Organising Secretary HOSHANG KATRAK reports –

Stretched over three days from 26^th to 28^th June, 2026, Parsee Gymkhana’s 11^th All-Parsee TT tournament was a resounding success, with players coming in from Pune and Gujarat, and one all the way from Dubai to participate. With over 108 entries spread over five events, the response this year was overwhelming.

The first morning began with the Open Singles qualifying rounds and Under-14 events. While the former had 90 players (16 to qualify) divided into 16 groups vying to meet the top-ranked 16 in the main draw, the Under-14 had a judicious mix of the experienced and newcomers. The most thrilling match saw in the main draw saw qualifier Hanoz Patel meeting Rayomand Marolia in the pre-quarters. With the first four games shared, Rayomand, who, with his immense experience had negotiated Hanoz’s unpredictable pimpled rubber till then, lost to the left-handed Hanoz over extra points in the deciding fifth game.

Two matches stood out in the Open doubles – in the pre-quarters, Percy Patel and I (Hoshang Katrak) versus Ardeshir Hira and Danesh Contractor, with his unconventional spinning action. The excitement reached the deciding fifth game, where our combined experience helped prevailed over our younger opponents 11-9.

The doubles finals was an all Parsee Gymkhana affair. Zubin Taraporewalla (minus his better half-and-partner, Frenaz, who missed this tournament due to a shoulder injury) partnered with Mahzarin Pardiwalla, to eliminate the top-seeded Cama Park pair of Hormaz and Carlshen in the Semis, but went down 9-11 in the decider, against the formidable duo of Rayomand Marolia and Nekzaad Kerawalla in the finals.

In the Team’s event, the semi-finals between second-seeded ‘Rock Solid’ (Sarosh Shroff, Farzan Malesaria & Zeus Kararia) and third-seeds Cama Park (Hormaz Pithawalla, Carlshen Wadia & Mahzarin Pardiwalla) went the distance. In the opening match Hormaz brushed aside Farzan to put Cama Park ahead. Carlshen quickly made it 2-0 beating Sarosh. In the crucial doubles, Farzan and Zeus edged out Carlshen and Mahzarin in four games. In the reverse singles, Sarosh levelled scores with Hormaz. In the deciding fifth match, Mahzarin played out of her skin to pip young Zeus in five tough games. In the Open singles, Carlshen played brilliantly, accounting for Nekzaad in the semis on the way to his first final, but lost to defending champion Zubin in three straight games.

Along with the Prize Distribution, the Parsee Gymkhana felicitated their First Division Interclub men’s and women’s winning teams, including former National champion Madhurika Patkar, who represented PG at the recent First Division Interclub TT tournament; and current Gujarat No.1 Chitrax Bhatt.

Parsee Gymkhana went all out to make the tournament a success, distributing paraphernalia, meals and a grand celebratory dinner on the final day to all participants. The Chief Guest for the evening, Parsee Gymkhana President Mehli Golvala, expressed his admiration at the growing standard of the game in the community and hoped that players would come in even larger numbers in future. Eight times national Motocross champion, Rustom Patel, and a keen TT-enthusiast, was all praise, ”Although we Bawas are a miniscule community, the number of participants this year, especially the youngsters, clearly reflects the interest the community has in the sport. The number of entries is sure to increase next year!” The Gymkhana and the players are deeply grateful for the generous donations by Justice (Retd) Shahrukh Kathawalla and WZO Trust Funds.

RESULTS – ALL FINALS

CATEGORY	WINNER	RUNNER-UP
OPEN SINGLES	Zubin Taraporewalla (PG)	Carlshen Wadia (CP)
OPEN DOUBLES	Rayomand Marolia & Nekzaad Kerawalla (PG)	Zubin Taraporewalla & Mahzarin Pardiwalla (PG)
VETERAN SINGLES	Sarosh Shroff	Hormaz Pithawalla (CP)
UNDER-14	Zeus Kararia (Rustom Baug)	Jehziel Variava (Godrej Baug)
TEAMS	Parsee Gymkhana ‘A’	Cama Park