Jayesh Ashplya dominates Navneet Manaksia 11-2 in Kolkata Open final

Jayesh Ashplya left no doubt in the Kolkata Open’s 50+ men’s singles final, overpowering Navneet Manaksia 11-2 at Sportsplex in Kolkata and turning a title match into a statement of control. From the opening points, Ashplya set the pace, kept the rallies on his terms and barely gave Manaksia room to settle into rhythm.

The margin mattered because it reflected more than one hot run of points. Ashplya won with precision and calm rather than brute force, a reminder that veteran singles can be decided by placement, patience and a steady refusal to donate errors. In a division built for older competitors, that kind of composure stood out even more than the scoreline itself.

The result also fit the shape of a Kolkata Open 2026 that had grown into one of the clearest snapshots yet of pickleball’s rise in eastern India. The event ran from April 30 to May 3 and drew 490 players from 18 states, spread across nine divisions and 32 categories. With a reported Rs 13 lakh prize pool, it was billed as the first Indian Pickleball Association-sanctioned PWR 400 tournament in Eastern India, giving the masters brackets a stage that felt far beyond a local stop on the calendar.

That scale helps explain why Ashplya’s win carried wider significance. A one-sided final in the 50+ men’s singles bracket suggested that the senior field is not only present, but increasingly deep enough to produce players who can separate themselves under pressure. At the same event, other finals ranged from dominant wins to tighter finishes, a sign that the tournament was not just filling brackets, but building real competitive layers across age groups and skill levels.

For Indian pickleball, that matters. Masters play is no longer an afterthought tucked behind the younger divisions. It is becoming part of the sport’s structure, with players staying active long enough to sharpen their games and raise the standard of the brackets around them. With the Kolkata Open also reflecting the spread of the sport beyond the city into places such as Siliguri, Howrah and Serampore, Ashplya’s 11-2 final read as more than a clean victory. It was another marker of how quickly the senior game is catching up to the sport’s wider boom.