Suchika Tariyal secured a historic bronze medal in the womenโs traditional 60kg event at the Asian Games 2026, becoming the countryโs first medallist in the sport despite a controversial semifinal defeat to Singaporeโs Hui Hoon Teo.
Indian MMA athlete Suchika Tariyal capped off her Asian Games 2026 campaign with a bronze medal in the women’s traditional 60kg MMA event after losing to Hui Hoon Teo of Singapore on Monday.
India’s MMA campaign at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya dealt with major difficulties after Varun Sanyal’s campaign ended before it could even begin due to medical reasons.
The pressure was on Suchika to deliver after assuring India of its first medal at the quadrennial sporting event. Despite the defeat, the Indian MMA star has held the country’s flag high with a bronze finish and also made history in the process.
Suchika secures historic bronze
Suchika made history after securing India’s first-ever bronze medal in MMA at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya. She helped take the country’s medal tally to four after three silver medals came from separate shooting events.
MMA was among the six sporting disciplines that debuted at the 2026 Asian Games, alongside Freestyle BMX, Padel, Surfing, Teqball and Virtual Taekwondo.
Earlier, Suchika assured India of a medal after defeating Altanchimeg Baigalmaa of Mongolia 2-0 in the quarters to advance to the next round.
More from SportsControversy erupts over Suchika’s defeat
Suchika’s historic bronze was clouded by a major controversy after the Indian camp challenged the Singaporean MMA star’s win on account of her lower weight.
According to Sports Now, Suchika’s coach Nikhil Kunder said the fight was level after regulation, and they have taken the matter to Arbitration. He further claimed that one judge favoured India, while the other two gave Singapore the extra-round win.
“We have challenged the decision. The match was a draw. We are waiting for arbitration results. Hoping it will change the final result. The fight was scored a draw, and it went into overtime. 2 judges gave Singapore the decision, and 1 gave it to India. So we have challenged,” Nikhil said.
The Indian MMA fighter was inconsolable after her defeat, but she helped India make history at one of the most prestigious global sporting events.