Aichi-Nagoya: Indian mixed martial arts athlete Suchika Tariyal created history at the Asian Games 2026 by winning the country’s first-ever medal in MMA. She secured bronze in the women’s traditional 60kg event at Aichi-Nagoya on Monday.
Suchika had already assured India of its first MMA medal after defeating Mongolia’s Altanchimeg Baigalmaa in the quarterfinals on Sunday. Baigalmaa increased the pressure in the second and final round as she looked to change the outcome, but Suchika held her ground with disciplined defence.
The Indian fighter produced an important reversal during the contest and took Baigalmaa to the ground. She maintained control until the end of the round to secure the victory and book her place in the semifinals.
Suchika’s campaign ended in the semifinal stage after she suffered a 2-0 defeat against Singapore’s Hui Hoon Teo. The result earned her a historic bronze medal and marked a significant moment for Indian MMA on the Asian Games stage.
India’s other MMA representative, Varun Sanyal, was unable to begin his campaign after being ruled out for medical reasons.
India also continued its medal-winning run in shooting, with Rudrankksh Patil, Parth Mane and Himanshu Dhillon claiming silver in the men’s 10m air rifle team event. The Indian trio scored 1890.1 points, finishing behind China’s 1899.0, while South Korea took bronze.
Rudrankksh and Himanshu also qualified for the individual 10m air rifle final, while Parth finished 11th in qualifying.
In swimming, Srihari Nataraj advanced to the men’s 50m backstroke final, with Rishabh Das named as reserve. Mani Akash, Gitesh Shah and Dhanush Suresh missed out on their respective finals.
Elsewhere, India defeated Pakistan 3-0 in the women’s table tennis team Group F match, while Nyeman Wangsu finished 15th in the women’s Changquan final in wushu.
