Indian Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter Suchika Tariyal made history on Sunday after she assured herself of a medal by reaching the semifinals of the women’s traditional 60kg category at the 2026 Asian Games in Nagoya.
She defeated Mongolia’s Altanchimeg Baigalmaa 2-0 in the quarterfinal to ensure that she will at least win a bronze medal.
Suchika Tariyal is a 36-year-old athlete who hails from the town of Budhana in Uttar Pradesh. She kickstarted her sports career as a judoka before eventually transitioning to ju-jutsu, and later MMA in 2017.
Early on in her career, Tariyal competed in over 20 international competitions, and eventually became an eight-time national champion. She won a silver medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Judo Championships, before going onto win gold at the 2019 Commonwealth Judo Championships as well as the South Asian Games in the same year.
Tariyal also competed at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in the 57kg category, but missed out on a podium finish by a narrow margin. She has also competed in several Asian judo championships.
More to follow
