Nagoya, Japan: Suchika Tariyal assured India of its first medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, defeating Mongolia's Altanchimeg Baigalmaa 2-0 to storm into the semifinals of the women’s Traditional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) 60kg event, here on Sunday.
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The 36-year-old veteran, who has carved out a multi-discipline combat sports career spanning judo, kurash, jiu-jitsu and now MMA, will fight in the semifinals on Monday.
A place in the semifinals guarantees a medal in the event, with the two losing semifinalists awarded bronze.
MMA is making its Asian Games debut at Aichi-Nagoya 2026.
Tariyal's medal-winning run is the latest chapter in a sporting journey that saw her represent
India in judo at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and in kurash at the 2023 Asian Games.
She was also crowned Jiu-Jitsu world champion in 2024.
After stepping away from sport, Tariyal returned to competition after being encouraged by friends and chose MMA as her new challenge.
She has since battled through a knee injury and several hurdles to make her Asian Games debut in the sport.
Against Baigalmaa, who is ranked 92nd in the Eurasia region, Tariyal controlled the contest to seal a 2-0 victory and a place in the last four.
