Suchika Tariyal had to settle for a bronze medal at the Asian Games 2026 on Monday, after losing to Singapore’s Hui Hoon Teo, in an encounter that ended in a controversy. This was India’s maiden medal in MMA that made its debut in this edition of .
The closely-fought bout ended in a draw after regulation time, with Teo mounting an attack in the final few seconds. But Tariyal managed to get her opponent down just as the buzzer went off. She was shattered by the result and wept bitterly once the final decision was announced in Teo’s favour.
The bronze took India’s overall medal tally to six at the continental showpiece. Shooters have bagged four silver medals and one bronze so far.
The Singaporean enjoyed a dominating first period, but fought back strongly in the second. With neither fighter able to establish a clear advantage, the bout went into a one-minute extra round. Tariyal thought she had done enough to win, while Teo also celebrated at the final buzzer.
The bout was initially ruled in Teo’s favour but after an Indian challenge, the result was declared a draw and the winner was then determined by the fighters’ morning weights. Teo was subsequently declared the winner 2-0 and advanced to the final, leaving Tariyal visibly upset.
Mixed Martial Arts () Sports Federation president Nikhil Kunder explained the decision. “After the Indian challenge, the result of the bout was declared drawn. The winner was then decided on the basis of the weights of competing athletes according to morning weigh-in,” Sports Federation president Nikhil Kunde told PTI.
“Since, the Singaporean was lighter than Suchika by around 700 grams, she moved to the final. Suchika settled for bronze.”
After the decision went in favour of Teo, the Indian camp challenged the original decision. According to RevSportz, Kunder said that India paid a $1000 arbitration fee. Following the challenge, three new judges reviewed the bout and declared it a draw.
However, the Singapore camp chose to go for the weight-based rule, instead of challenging another round of arbitration. According to the rule, the lighter athlete will win the bout. While Tariyal weighed around 59.2kg, while Teo weighed 58.5kg, RevSportz reported..
“Three new judges came and scored the bout again. When those three new judges came, the bout was scored a draw. Now, the Singapore team had an option to either counter-arbitrate, where three more judges come and score the bout, or they go for the weight that was taken in the morning during weigh-ins. Whichever athlete weighs lighter will win,” Kunder said.
According to Kunder, the weight rule is not new and has been a part of Asian Federation’s rules from the start. “That’s the rule of the AMA. That’s what they went for and I think they were smart enough to do that. That’s what they went for and she was the lighter one,” he said.
