India’s Suchika Tariyal made history on Monday clinching a bronze medal in the women’s 60kg mixed martial arts event at the 2026 Asian Games.
This was MMA’s debut at the Games and Tariyal’s run ended in the semifinals after a nail-biter against Singapore’s Hui Hoon Teo—a bout that spilled into overtime. The match was so close it came down to a split decision. Heartbroken by the loss Tariyal challenged the judges’ call.
When an athlete protests a judging decision, rules say they have to pay a $100 non-refundable fee. For Tariyal, the Indian MMA Federation president Nikhil Kunder stepped in and paid that amount.
Usually, three officials score the match but with a protest, a jury of ten members reviews the entire contest through all available footage. After watching the bout, the jury concluded that the fight was actually a draw.
Why did Tariyal end up with the bronze?
The competition’s tie-break rule decides that if there’s a draw the lighter fighter advances. Tariyal weighed in 700 grams heavier than Teo, so the win went to the Singaporean. That left Tariyal just shy of the final with a hard-earned bronze for her efforts.
Even with the sting of missing the final, the 36-year-old leaves Aichi-Nagoya with a truly groundbreaking medal for Indian MMA—a big step forward for the sport back home.
Tariyal’s semifinal spot came after a cool-headed win against Mongolia’s Altanchimeg Baigalmaa in the quarters. She beat Baigalmaa 2-0, and with that, became the first Indian to guarantee an Asian Games medal in MMA.
Her bronze is just the latest highlight in a career full of impressive achievements across combat sports. Tariyal has competed as a national-level judoka, represented India at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games—where she made it to the bronze-medal round—and took part in kurash at the 2023 Asian Games. Then in 2024, she became a world champion in fighting Jiu-Jitsu.