Suchika Tariyal made history by winning India's first-ever medal in mixed martial arts at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Games, although her path to the podium was marked by dramatic moments in the semifinal. Following a closely fought match against Singapore's Hui Hoon Teo in the women's Traditional 60kg division, Tariyal showed mixed emotions of being 'disappointed' and 'proud', speaking to the Outlook India.
When thinking about the flood of emotions that came after the match, Tariyal spoke frankly about the controversial decision. "It's very emotional and I'm extremely disappointed since I believed that I was winning and having the upper hand in the fight. During the first two rounds I thought I was ahead, and although the fight went to an extension, I still felt that I was winning and in control," she said.
Instead of accepting this result, the Indian side filed an official protest and paid a non-refundable fee of $1,000 to initiate a review. The 10-judge arbitration panel then carefully examined the footage of the match and finally decided that the contest should be classified as a dead heat.
The final decision was a severe blow due to a technicality; since the tournament rules state that in the case of a tie the outcome is determined by body weight, Teo's advantage of weighing 700 grams less than Tariyal secured the Singaporean athlete the win and thus abruptly brought India's appeal to an end, as well as fixed Tariyal's position as bronze medalist.
Because of the narrow margins and the way the decision was made, she went on to say, "Perhaps the federation is Singaporean and she is as well, which is why she won." She was reffering to the Asian Mixed Martial Arts Association (AMMA) and its parent body FIMMA, which are managing the historic debut of Mixed Martial Arts at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
Made Country Proud
Even though she had suffered the pain of missing the gold medal match because of the scale-based tie-break rule, the pioneering fighter decided to concentrate on the huge achievement she had made for her country.
"But I'm happy that I'm not returning home empty-handed; I have made my country proud and now they know my name. They know me, and I'm looking forward to playing and fighting more," Tariyal said.
