Varun Sanyal to contest men's 77 kg MMA for India at Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya
Varun Sanyal, an MMA debutant, will represent India in the men’s traditional 77 kg division at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya and says he draws inspiration from Rocky Balboa. He is part of a two-member Indian MMA contingent that includes Suchika Tariyal Hooda in the women’s 60 kg division.
A bronze medallist at the Asian championships in China in January 2026, Varun has turned professional and carries credentials including a first-class business management honours degree from Queen Mary University of London. His first interest in combat sports came via WWE and TNA, and he cites Indian wrestlers Sushil Kumar and Yogeshwar Dutt’s success at the 2012 London Olympics as deepening his attraction to martial arts. Suchika Tariyal Hooda previously represented India in Kurash at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou.
“Seeing our Olympians succeed really drew me towards martial arts and eventually towards MMA. MMA is, in many ways, the most primal form of sport and competition, so I was naturally drawn to it. It’s also a life skill. Learning how to defend yourself, stay calm under pressure, and make decisions when you’re under physical threat are incredibly important skills. Having to make decisions under pressure, sometimes with very serious consequences, has been one of the biggest learnings I’ve taken from MMA,” Varun told SAI Media.
Varun comes from a family with a public-profile background: he is the son of Sanjeev Sanyal and Smita Barooah, and his great-granduncle was Sachindranath Sanyal. “I was especially proud to represent MMA in front of the Prime Minister of India, make him aware of the sport and educate him a little bit about what MMA is. It was a very brief interaction, of course, but the opportunity alone meant a lot to me. I’m very hopeful that as the sport continues to grow in India, PM Modi will take an even greater interest in it,” said Varun.
Growing up in Singapore, Varun took part in cricket, football, athletics, squash and powerlifting before moving into wrestling, Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai and eventually MMA. “Growing up, I remember my father taking me out to the field and kicking a football around with me. He would take me to play squash, we’d sometimes go on random runs, and he’d make us do exercises together. Even when I was very young, he put me into taekwondo classes, although I wasn’t particularly interested in it at the time. As I grew up, whether it was playing cricket, going to the gym, or getting into powerlifting, he was always very supportive,” Varun said.
“The pathway has been a little bumpy. I won the MMA SFI Nationals in 2025, which qualified me for the Asian AMMA Championships in January 2026 in China, where I won a bronze medal. That meant I was officially ranked within the Asian system. At the time, though, it wasn’t particularly clear who had qualified for the Asian Games or what the qualification process was going to look like. There wasn’t much clarity from the Asian side about how the qualification process would work. So rather than sitting around waiting, I decided to focus on my professional career. Eventually, I received final confirmation that I would be going to the Asian Games just two weeks before the Games themselves. So, obviously, preparing mentally and physically for something of this magnitude in such a short period has been quite a challenge. But I suppose that’s part of sport. That’s what sport is,” said Varun.
On support and the sport’s growth in India, Varun said: “The government is now aware of MMA and has shown more interest in the sport over the last year than it ever has before. That is certainly a positive step. We are still having to find support from different places just to continue our careers. I’m fortunate to have Raphe mPhibr sponsoring me and supporting me on my journey, and I’ve had other people support me over the years as well. But I understand that MMA is still a relatively new sport, and I trust that things will improve with time.” He credited Nikhil Kunder, the president of the national federation, adding: “I know how difficult it must be. The nationals, the events that have been conducted, and a lot of the training and expenses involved in supporting the fighters have been funded by the people running the federation themselves. A lot of that money has effectively gone straight out of Nikhil’s or the other people’s own pockets. So, while I’m happy that the government is now looking at MMA more closely, I would like to see that interest translate into more direct support for the athletes.” “We now have two Indian athletes who have qualified and are ranked in the top six in Asia. I don’t see why there can’t be more. I don’t see why, eventually, we can’t fill all the weight categories in MMA in the same way that we do in sports like wrestling and boxing,” said Varun.
Sanyal, a two-time national champion, will compete for India in the men’s 77 kg Mixed Martial Arts division at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, where Mixed Martial Arts will make its debut as a medal sport; Suchika Tariyal Hooda will join him in the women’s 60 kg category.
