Overcoming early trauma, Suchika Tariyal eyes MMA medal for India at Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya

Suchika Tariyal represented India in kurash at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games and has since won back-to-back bronze medals at the Asian MMA Championships. She will now aim for success in MMA, which is set to debut at the 2026 Asian Games.

Suchika Tariyal, one of India’s most versatile combat sports exponents, is pushing herself for a dream Asian Games 2026 podium finish in the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) competition, which will make its debut at Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. An eve-teasing incident when she was just 12 forced the Rohtak girl to take up judo for self-protection.

Little did Tariyal know that one day she would become a hugely popular MMA athlete and youth icon, with more than 300,000 Instagram followers, and represent India at the global stage with considerable success.

Supported by the sports ministry’s Target Asian Games Group (TAGG) scheme, Tariyal will represent India in the traditional 60 kg category, a competition where she has won back-to-back bronze medals at the Asian MMA championships in January and May this year.

This will be 36-year-old Tariyal’s second Asian Games. In the Hangzhou 2022 edition, she represented India in kurash (a form of wrestling where competitors wear jackets and belts and try to throw each other onto their backs).

“Life has given me a second chance at the Asian Games. In Hangzhou, it did not go the way I wanted because kurash was not popular in India, and my preparation was not adequate. This time, I am fully prepared for MMA,” she told SAI Media.

Tariyal’s career started as a judoka. She then switched to ju-jutsu and took up MMA in 2017, never looking back. She initially trained at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, then at the Dada Dev Mandir Centre in Palam and later honed her skills at SAI Bhopal.

Tariyal subsequently established herself as an international-level judoka, representing India in more than 20 international Judo competitions. She went on to become an eight-time national judo champion and secured several major international medals for India. She won gold at the Commonwealth Judo 2019 Championships and the South Asian Games 2019, after winning silver at the 2018 Commonwealth Judo 2018 meet.

Tariyal also represented India at multiple Asian judo championships. At the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham, she competed in the Women’s -57 kg category and narrowly missed a podium finish, gaining valuable experience at the highest level of international judo.

She subsequently expanded her career into ju-Jitsu, achieving a major milestone in 2024 by winning gold in the adult female -63 kg category at the JJIF Ju-Jitsu World Championships. Tariyal's success across judo and ju-jitsu provided a strong foundation for her transition to MMA.

Tariyal made her MMA debut in 2017 with a win, before taking a seven-year break from the sport while continuing to compete successfully in judo and ju-jitsu. In November 2024, she signed a multi-fight contract with BRAVE Combat Federation in the Women’s Strawweight division. She returned to professional MMA at BRAVE CF 92 in Bahrain in December 2024, securing a victory.

“Judo set me up for MMA, which for me is the ultimate level of combat sports. Because of judo I was skillful in ground fighting and grappling. I only had to learn the standing game and striking skills for MMA. Switching from judo was not difficult. MMA is a test of all-round skills, and one has to be a complete combat athlete,” she explained.

With success has come popularity. Tariyal was honoured by the President and Prime Minister of India not only for representing the country in four world championships and 30+ international meets, but also for being a perfect example of athletic excellence, youth influence and women’s empowerment. She has also featured in popular TV shows – MTV Roadies and India’s Ultimate Warrior on Prime Video.

“I really want to inspire young women to take up MMA. I will be very happy even if one girl looks at me and says ‘if Suchika can, I can too.’ In modern times, women need to defend themselves, and parents must let their children take up combat sports. MMA gives you that complete package. And women have a strong mindset to play combat sports. They can bear pain and can be more focused. If a woman can bear the pain of childbirth, MMA is nothing.”

At the Asian Games, competition will be very tough, said Tariyal. She says she has trained hard with coach Nikhil Kunder at the One Punch Academy in Andheri, Mumbai. “There will be no easy fights. I am not thinking of results now. I don’t want to put myself under the pressure of expectation. I just want to give my 100% for India. For any fighter, a medal is the ultimate achievement, and I am no different.”

For about a decade, Livemint—News Desk has been a credible source for authentic and timely news, and well-researched analysis on national news, business, personal finance, corporates, politics and geopolitics. We bring the latest updates on all the listed companies on BSE and NSE, startups, mutual funds, Union ministries, geopolitics, and untapped human interest stories from around the world, helping our readers to stay informed on the latest developments around the globe. Our Coverage Areas 1. Companies: Comprehensive news and analysis on listed and unlisted companies, corporate announcements, corporate chatter, C-suite, business trends, hiring alerts, layoffs, work-life balance, world's top billionaires and richest and more. 2. Personal finance: Insights into mutual funds, small savings schemes like - PPF, SSY, post office savings scheme, stock to watch, personal loans, credit cards, top bank FDs, real estate, income tax and more. 3. Politics: Comprehensive coverage of general elections, state elections and bypolls, Lok Sabha, Vidhan Sabha, Parliament, PMO, PIB, finance ministry, home ministry, among other union ministries and government departments. 4. National News: From metro cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and e to untapped stories from rural India, we cover human interest, health, education, crime and courts, and law and order, among other areas of public interest. 5. Economy: In-depth analysis of India's macro and micro-economic indicators like- GDP, inflation, forex, fiscal deficit, current account deficit, interest rate cycle, economic recovery, RBI circulars, indirect taxes, GST, Insolvency and Bankruptcy imports, exports and everything that impacts Indian economy. 6. Geopolitics: Well-rounded and deeply researched coverage on US News, Oval Office European Union, Ukraine Russia War, middle-east crisis, royal families and global leaders like - Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, Xi Jinping and premiers of other leading economies in the world. Meet the Team 1. Gulam Jeelani, Political Affairs Editor 2. Sugam Singhal, Senior Assistant Editor 3. Chanchal, Assistant Editor 4. Sanchari Ghosh, Chief Content Producer 5. Pratik Prashant Mukane, Chief Content Producer 6. Sayantani Biswas, Chief Content Producer 7. Ravi Hari, Deputy Chief Content Producer 8. Garvit Bhirani, Deputy Chief Content Producer 9. Akriti Anand, Senior Content Producer 10. Jocelyn Felix Fernandes, Senior Content Producer 11. Swastika Das Sharma, Content Producer 12. Mausam Jha, Content Producer 13. Riya R Alex, Trainee Content Producer