Suchika Tariyal secures India’s first Asian Games MMA medal

Suchika Tariyal made history at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games by becoming India’s first MMA medallist, defeating Mongolia’s Altanchimeg Baigalmaa 2-0 in the women’s traditional -60kg quarterfinals. The 36-year-old now targets a place in the gold-medal bout.

Nagoya: Suchika Tariyal broke new ground for Indian mixed martial arts on Sunday, becoming the country’s first athlete to secure an Asian Games medal in MMA after powering into the women’s traditional -60kg semifinals at the Aichi-Nagoya Games.

The 36-year-old produced a composed performance against Mongolia’s Altanchimeg Baigalmaa, securing a 2-0 quarterfinal victory to enter the last four and guarantee India at least a bronze medal.

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For Tariyal, the achievement adds another significant chapter to a sporting career that has taken her across multiple combat disciplines. A national-level judoka, she represented India at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, where she reached the bronze-medal bout, and later competed in kurash at the 2023 Asian Games.

Her transition between disciplines eventually took her to the top of the Jiu-Jitsu world, with Tariyal winning a world title in fighting Jiu-Jitsu in 2024.

MMA, meanwhile, became a fresh challenge in a career already marked by reinvention. Tariyal made her professional MMA debut in 2017 and won her first bout, but subsequently spent seven years away from the sport while pursuing opportunities in judo and Jiu-Jitsu. She returned to MMA competition and signed a multi-fight deal with BRAVE Combat Federation in November 2024 in the Women’s Strawweight division.

Her route back was not without obstacles, including a knee injury, but encouragement from friends helped persuade her to return to competition and take on MMA once again. Her journey also brought her public recognition through an earlier appearance on the television reality show Roadies.

At the Asian Games, Tariyal has now turned that unconventional sporting journey into history.

She will next fight for a place in the gold-medal contest against either Singapore’s Hui Hoon Teo or Iran’s Arezou Salimighalehtaki.

MMA is among six sports making their Asian Games debut in Aichi-Nagoya, alongside freestyle BMX, teqball, padel, surfing and virtual taekwondo. With Tariyal’s semifinal berth, India has already secured a medal in the discipline at its first appearance on the Asian Games programme.

Regardless of what follows in the semifinals, Tariyal’s run has ensured that India will leave the inaugural Asian Games MMA competition with a historic medal.