Rahul Giri in Bhubaneswar
In a major upset at the ongoing Super Cup, Inter Kashi edged past ISL runner-up Bengaluru FC in the pre-quarterfinals at the Kalinga Stadium on Wednesday.
Inter Kashi, who recently appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after the AIFF controversially declared Churchill Brothers as I-League champions, made a resounding statement in the tournament. They pulled off the upset win without the presence of their head coach Antonio Lopez Habas and key midfielder Joni Kauko. On the other hand, Bengaluru FC, despite fielding a full-strength squad – barring the injured Rahul Bheke – delivered a lackluster performance.
Matija Babović sent the game into a penalty shootout with a late equaliser, converting Aritra Das’s low cross inside the box. It cancelled out Ryan Williams’ 62nd-minute strike, which came after Inter Kashi goalkeeper Shubham Dhas made a critical error by rushing off his line — an opportunity Williams clinically took.
However, Shubham later redeemed himself in dramatic fashion, saving Alberto Noguera’s penalty in the shootout and securing a stunning 5-3 win for Kashi.
Speaking after the game, Shubham shared his admiration for his role model Gurpreet Singh Sandhu. “Gurpreet Paaji has always been a role model for me. He is one of the best,” he said.
The Inter Kashi squad had been preparing for penalties for the past few days, and that paid dividends.
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🚨Big Upset in Super Cup | Inter Kashi Knocked Out Bengaluru FC from the Super Cup @Rahul_01Giri reports @ShrachiSports #BengaluruFC #InterKashi #SuperCup #KalingSuperCup pic.twitter.com/Hj7rOtaJfb
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“This is an open tournament. We believe in each other, and anything can happen on the day. We worked on penalties for the last two-three days and it paid off,” Shubham added.
Serbian midfielder Nikola Stanković, who played a pivotal role in midfield, summed up the club’s spirit.
“This is a newly formed club that always operates with honesty and lets its performance on the pitch do the talking,” he said boldly after the win.
Later in the day, Mumbai City FC knocked out Chennaiyin FC with a commanding 4-0 victory to set up a quarterfinal clash against Inter Kashi.
Despite missing four of their key foreign players, along with Jayesh Rane and Prabir Das due to injuries, Mumbai dominated proceedings and outplayed Chennaiyin in every department.
Nikolas Karelis opened the scoring just before half-time, heading home a delightful lifted pass by Hitesh Sharma. In the 64th minute, Karelis turned provider, setting up Lallianzuala Chhangte, who tapped into an empty net. Chhangte then showcased his brilliance in the 86th minute, carrying a pass from Jorge Ortiz into the box and unleashing a powerful strike into the far left corner. Bipin Singh put the icing on the cake scoring Mumbai’s fourth as he drilled in the far bottom corner to make it 4-0.
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