Oriental Cup 2026: Men's semifinalists confirmed as DPS Vasant Vihar register 3-1 win
New Delhi, July 14
DPS Vasant Vihar, Step by Step, Mother's International, and G.D. Goenka emerged victorious to book their places in the semifinals in the boys' under-17 section of the Oriental Cup 2026 at the Dr Ambedkar Stadium in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Delhi Public School, Vasant Vihar, produced a spirited comeback to defeat Delhi Public School, R.K. Puram, 3-1 in the opening quarterfinal. Ayush Ranjan handed DPS R.K. Puram an early lead in the fourth minute, but Idaant Trivedi restored parity for DPS Vasant Vihar in the ninth minute. Abhyuday Singh then put his side ahead in the 12th minute before completing his brace with a goal in the 40th minute to seal an impressive comeback victory and secure a place in the semi-finals.
The second quarterfinal saw Step by Step School, Noida, edge past St. Francis De Sales Senior Secondary School 2-1 in a closely contested encounter. Naunidh Gandhi opened the scoring in the 10th minute before Hirom Perryn equalised for St. Francis De Sales just two minutes later.
Gandhi responded immediately, restoring Step by Step School's lead in the 14th minute. His brace ultimately proved decisive as Step by Step held on to register a hard-fought victory and advance to the last four.
Mother's International School, Delhi, booked their place in the semi-finals after registering a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Mount Carmel School, Dwarka, in the third quarterfinal. Both teams were evenly matched in a tightly contested first half, with neither side able to break the deadlock. The decisive moment arrived in the 24th minute when Mount Carmel School conceded a penalty, which Dhruv Tuli calmly converted. His spot-kick proved to be the difference as Mother's International School progressed to the semi-finals.
The day's proceedings concluded with G.D. Goenka School, Dwarka securing a convincing 2-0 victory over Vasant Valley School in the fourth quarterfinal. Kaartikya Kashyap Chugh continued his fine form with a brace, opening the scoring in the 11th minute before adding his second in the 23rd minute. With a goal in each half, G.D. Goenka School completed a composed performance to comfortably seal their place in the semi-finals.
The Oriental Cup 2026 continues on Wednesday with four highly anticipated semi-final fixtures, two each in the Boys' and Girls' categories, as the tournament enters its penultimate stage. The fourth edition, being held from July 7 to 16 at Dr Ambedkar Stadium, is expected to feature over 1,500 student-athletes representing more than 45 teams from across Delhi-NCR. The tournament features a more than doubled prize pool and a ₹2.5 lakh scholarship programme for 10 deserving student-athletes.
Results (match day 6):
Boys' category:
DPS, Vasant Kunj 3-1 DPS, R.K Puram
Step by Step School, Noida 2-1 St. Francis De Sales Sr. Secondary School
The Mother's International School 1-0 Mount Carmel School, Dwarka
G.D Goenka, Dwarka 2-0 Vasant Valley School
— IANS
Reader Comments
Lovely to see 1500+ students participating! These events build character and sportsmanship. But I hope the scholarship programme reaches kids from less privileged schools too, not just elite institutions.
Naunidh Gandhi and Kaartikya Kashyap Chugh are on fire! Two braces in one day? These boys have real potential. Indian football needs more grassroots exposure like this. Kudos to Oriental Cup for the prize pool increase! 💪
That penalty conversion by Dhruv Tuli under pressure? Very mature for an under-17 player. Mount Carmel gave a tough fight though, only 1-0 loss. Tight tournament this year! 🔥
While I'm thrilled for these schools, I hope we don't lose sight of rural talent. The ₹2.5 lakh scholarship is great, but let's have scouts from state associations watching these matches. Many star players come from small towns only.
Step by Step vs St. Francis was literally edge-of-the-seat stuff! Goalkeepers from both sides deserve a shoutout too. Looking forward to the semi-finals on Wednesday. Ya Allah, kya match tha! 🏆
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