Four games, four wins — 12 goals on Independence Day.
An Independence Day one-day cup, run by Corex at Decathlon, Bannerghatta Road. Vicky FA Reds went through it unbeaten — 9–0, 6–0, a 6–1 semi-final, and a 7–2 final — scoring 28 and conceding 3. It was Avyaan’s biggest single-day return on record: 12 goals and 7 assists on the way to the title.
Goals and assists are family-recorded from match reports, video and observation — grassroots tournaments don’t keep official stats. How we keep the record.
The Independence Day Cup is a one-day U-9 cup run by Corex at the Decathlon store on Bannerghatta Road — a short group-stage-into-final format on turf, run around Independence Day. Avyaan played for Vicky FA Reds.
The competitionPart of Independence Day Cup
The branding and paperwork that came with the tournament — the posters, the fixtures, the rules — kept here for the record.
On the recordTwelve goals and seven recorded assists across the four wins — he scored in every game and set up team-mates in all but the final, as the Reds racked up 28 goals and conceded just 3.
On the listThis is the sides his team actually played, from the match record — the full tournament field fills in as it’s shared.
The final — a 7–2 win, and four goals for Avyaan. Champions.
Match reportA 6–1 semi-final — three goals and two assists.
Match reportHis best of the day — four goals and two assists in a 6–0 win.
Match reportA 9–0 opening rout of El Mundo — a goal and three assists for Avyaan.
Match reportThe lead-up — the travel, the setting, the small moments before kick-off.Coming soon
Independence Day, and a one-day five-a-side run by Corex at Decathlon, Bannerghatta Road. Vicky FA Reds went through it unbeaten — 9–0 against El Mundo, 6–0 against Photons FC Blue, a 6–1 semi-final against Photons FC Green, and a 7–2 final against All Stars FA. Twenty-eight scored, three conceded, and the cup.
It was Avyaan’s biggest single-day haul on record — twelve goals and seven assists across the four games. He scored in every match and created for others in all but the final, where he simply took over the scoring instead, with four.
The final was the real test. All Stars were the only side to lay a glove on them, scoring twice in a 3–2 first half — after three games in which the Reds had given up next to nothing. The answer came after the break: a 4–0 second half to settle it, and Rithvik took the Player of the Tournament award for the team.
Honest note on a winning day: as a unit they’re still learning. A couple of the boys don’t yet pass, or spot the gap where the ball should go, and it showed. He’s trying hard to carry it — but that second half in the final was them at their best.
What it taught him — on the pitch and off it.Coming soon
Two days before this cup, his coach mentioned something I hadn’t caught: Avyaan’s left foot had come on a lot. I’ll be honest — I hadn’t noticed. He’s right-footed, and I’d stopped looking for it. Then the tournament started, and I saw it for myself.
It isn’t about power yet. When a goal needs a real strike, the two feet still aren’t the same — the right hits harder, and that gap is honest. But everywhere the game is touch rather than force, they’ve drawn level: he receives on his left as naturally as his right now, and passes off it cleanly. For a right-footed nine-year-old that’s the harder half of the work — and it’s the half that has quietly shown up.
The scoresheet backed it. Of the six or seven goals we caught on camera across the four games, three were finished with the left. One left-footed chance he ballooned over, too — and that stays in the record. A left foot he’ll actually shoot with is worth more than a tidy number.
The part I keep coming back to isn’t the goals. It’s that a coach saw the change before we did, said it out loud, and a fortnight later the pitch proved him right. That’s the whole reason we keep this record — so the quiet improvements don’t slip past the people cheering the loudest.
In the coach’s own words.Coming soon
What other parents noticed, and shared.Coming soon
Photos and moments from the tournament.Coming soon
The off-pitch record — dashes mark what’s still to be recorded.
To fillAvyaan’s own words on this tournament are still to be added.
A brilliant individual day — twelve goals, a trophy, and passages (that second half in the final) where it all clicked. And an honest one too: as a team they’re still finding it, still learning to pass and to see the gaps. When he asked at half-time in the semi whether he could just keep passing, and I told him it was his call — that’s the bit I’ll remember.