Uttarakhand’s Daughter Suchika Tariyal Creates History, Wins India’s First Ever MMA Bronze at Asian Games After Controversial 700-Gram Rule Defeat
SUNIL NEGI
Uttarakhand’s daughter Suchika Tariyal, originally connected to Garhwal and presently serving as Constable in CISF, has created history by winning the Bronze medal in Mixed Martial Arts at the 20th Asian Games in Japan, bringing glory to the country and to Uttarakhand.
This is India’s first ever medal in MMA at the Asian Games, as MMA made its debut at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Games. Suchika won the medal in Women’s Traditional 60kg category.
Suchika, aged 36, born on August 16, 1990, hails from Rohtak, Haryana, born in Budhana UP, but her maternal connection is deeply rooted in Uttarakhand. Her mother Lajwanti Patwal Tariyal is daughter of respected Kalam Singh Ji and belongs to village Thapli, Pauri Garhwal. Her father is Rajendra Singh Tariyal. Suchika is also known as Suchika Hooda after marriage to Kapil Hooda. She serves as CISF Head Constable and Junior Coach with Department of Sports, Haryana.
Suchika assured herself of a medal on Sunday by defeating Mongolia’s Altanchimeg Baigalmaa 2-0 in the quarterfinals to enter the last four, where both losing semi-finalists are awarded bronze.
In the semi-final on Monday, September 21, against Singapore’s Teo Hui Hoon, Suchika produced a valiant show. Teo had the better of the first period, but Suchika fought back strongly in the second. The closely fought bout ended in a draw after regulation time, with Teo mounting an attack in final seconds but Suchika managing to get her opponent down just as the buzzer went off.
With neither fighter able to establish clear advantage, the bout went into a one-minute extra round. Both celebrated at the final buzzer. The bout was initially ruled 2-0 in Teo’s favour.
The Indian contingent challenged the decision through an arbitration process, which cost the MMA federation 1000 dollars non-refundable. Following the challenge, three independent judges reviewed the bout again and declared that there were no clear winners and the result was a draw.
To settle the matter, an existing controversial weight rule was applied. According to MMA Sports Federation president Nikhil Kunde, the winner was decided on the basis of morning weigh-in weights. Since the Singaporean Teo was lighter than Suchika by around 700 grams, she was declared winner 2-0 and moved to the final. Suchika settled for Bronze.
Suchika was visibly shattered, broke down inconsolably on the mat and did not immediately shake hands. Speaking later to Hindustan Times she said, “I did not agree with this decision at all, even on the mat, because this decision was not fair. The fight would have gone in my favour, but they didn’t even listen to our side. They rejected the objection and decided it based on weight, saying her weight was lower.”
Despite the heartbreak, her bronze took India’s tally to six medals at that stage and she was seen taking a victory lap with the Tricolour on Tuesday during the medal ceremony where Teo Hui Hoon of Singapore won gold and Sobirova Khiola of Uzbekistan silver.
Suchika’s journey is an inspiring story of resilience. She took up combat sports at age 12 after facing street harassment and eve-teasing, wanting to learn self-defence. She began training at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi, then Dada Dev Mandir Centre in Palam, later SAI Bhopal, and pre-Asian Games training at One Punch Academy, Mumbai under Target Asian Games Group scheme.
A multi-discipline athlete, she has represented India in four sports – Judo at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Kurash at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, Ju-Jitsu where she won Gold at JJIF World Championships Heraklion 2024 in -63kg contact, and now MMA where she is two-time Asian MMA Championships bronze medallist in January Luzhou, China and May 2026.
After her quarterfinal she had said, “This medal means a lot to me, as my coaches and I have worked very hard to reach here. My family has spent a lot of money on me and provided every possible support. So this medal means more than my life.”
Heartiest Congratulations by Uttarakhand community in Delhi and Uttarakhand to Uttarakhand’s daughter Suchika Tariyal
Daughter of Uttarakhand Suchika Tariyal has brought laurels to the country and Uttarakhand by winning Bronze medal in MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) competition at the 20th Asian Games held in Japan.
On this proud achievement of Suchika, heartiest congratulations and best wishes to her parents Rajendra Singh Tariyal Ji and Lajwanti Patwal Tariyal Ji and the entire family.
We, all residents of Thapli, also feel proud of this achievement of the family of Lajwanti Ji, daughter of our village Thapli, Pauri Garhwal, who is daughter of respected Shri Kalam Singh Ji.
Lots of best wishes to Suchika Tariyal for a bright future. May God give her strength and success to achieve even bigger glories for the country in future.
