Nagoya, September 20, 2026: CISF Head Constable Suchika Tariyal created history at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Sunday, assuring India of its first-ever medal in Mixed Martial Arts after defeating Mongolia’s Altanchimeg Baigalmaa 2–0 in the women’s Traditional MMA 60kg quarterfinal.
The 36-year-old produced a composed and disciplined performance to book a place in the semifinals, scheduled for Monday. Under the competition format, both losing semifinalists are awarded bronze. Her progression into the last four therefore guarantees India a podium finish in a sport making its Asian Games debut.
Tariyal’s victory also delivered India’s first medal of the Aichi-Nagoya Games. Baigalmaa, ranked 92nd in the Eurasia region, pressed aggressively in the second and final round in an attempt to reverse the contest. Tariyal’s defence held firm. She then executed a decisive reversal, took her opponent to the ground and maintained control until the final bell to seal the 2–0 decision.
Speaking after the bout, Tariyal said the result carried unusual personal weight. “This medal means a lot to me, as I and my coaches have worked very hard to reach here. My family has spent a lot of money for me and provided me with every possible support to help me become a good MMA player. So, this medal means more than my life,” she told SAI Media. She added that she would now contest Monday’s semifinal with a gold medal as the objective.
Her next opponent was expected to emerge from the other quarterfinal involving Singapore’s Teo Hui Hoon and Iran’s Arezou Salimighalehtaki. Several reports later identified Teo Hui Hoon as her semifinal opponent at the Nagoya City Inae Sports Centre.
From self-defence to the Asian Games podium
Tariyal’s path to this medal began far from the MMA cage. At the age of 12, an incident of eve-teasing prompted her to take up judo so that she could learn to defend herself. That decision grew into a multi-discipline combat career spanning judo, kurash, jiu-jitsu and MMA.
She became an eight-time national judo champion, won gold at the 2019 Commonwealth Judo Championships and the 2019 South Asian Games, and represented India in judo at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. She later competed in kurash at the 2023 Asian Games and was crowned jiu-jitsu world champion in 2024. She made her MMA debut in 2017, stepped away from the sport for several years, and returned to professional competition in December 2024 after signing with BRAVE Combat Federation. She is also a two-time Asian MMA Championships bronze medallist.
Alongside her sporting career, Tariyal has served as a Head Constable in the Central Industrial Security Force and later joined the Department of Sports, Haryana, as a junior coach. News reports commonly identify her with Rohtak, Haryana, where she trained and built much of her competitive base after earlier years associated with Delhi and Uttarakhand.
The result is significant beyond the individual medal. MMA is among the sports introduced at Aichi-Nagoya 2026, and Tariyal’s run places India on the inaugural Asian Games podium in the discipline. Regardless of the colour of medal she ultimately receives, her quarterfinal victory has already written a new chapter in Indian combat sports.
