Suchika Tariyal secures India’s first medal at 2026 Asian Games
Suchika Tariyal secured India’s first medal at the 2026 Asian Games on September 20, 2026, after winning her women’s traditional 60kg quarter-final at the Nagoya City Inae Sports Center in Aichi-Nagoya.
Mixed martial arts are making their debut at these Games, and Tariyal’s progression to the semi-finals guarantees her at least a bronze medal because MMA at this edition has no third-place playoff; every fighter reaching the last four is assured a podium finish. Her win therefore represents India’s first-ever Asian Games medal in MMA and confirms the nation’s opening podium in Nagoya.
Tariyal defeated Mongolia’s Altanchimeg Baigalmaa, the 2025 IMMAF World Champion, 2-0 in the quarter-final to advance to the last four. The result came in the women’s traditional 60kg bracket and was achieved at the Nagoya City Inae Sports Center.
Her semi-final is listed as Bout 35 at the Nagoya City Inae Sports Center, scheduled for 10:30 local time on 21 September, which corresponds to 7:00 am IST. A victory in that semi-final would move Tariyal into the gold-medal contest; her opponent will be the winner of the quarter-final between Iran’s Arezou Salimighalehtaki and Singapore’s Teoh Hui Hoon.
Tariyal’s combat-sports background includes a transition from judo to other grappling disciplines: she won gold at the 2019 Commonwealth Judo Championships and at the 2019 South Asian Games, and she competed in the women’s 57kg category at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. She also represented India in kurash at the Hangzhou Asian Games and won gold in the adults’ ju-jitsu contact 63kg category at the 2024 JJIF Ju-Jitsu World Championships.
Her build-up to the 2026 Asian Games encountered disruption in January when the jiu-jitsu team was dropped from India’s contingent, prompting her to enter the MMA trials instead. During the qualification process a mid-way change required a top-six Asian ranking; Tariyal financed her own trip to the Asian Championships, won a couple of bronze medals there, and those results helped her gain entry into the Sports Ministry’s Target Asian Games Group scheme.
Outside the Asian Games pathway, Tariyal has competed twice for BRAVE Combat Federation, with one win and one loss. She trains under coach Nikhil Kunder at One Punch Academy in Andheri, Mumbai, and she is employed as a judo coach with the Haryana Sports Department.
Tariyal returns to the mat for her scheduled semi-final on 21 September at 10:30 local time (7:00 am IST); a win will place her in the gold-medal match.
