suchika-tariyal-from-self-defence-to-asian-games-mma-podium

Suchika Tariyal has assured India of its first medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games after defeating Mongolia’s Altanchimeg Baigalmaa in the women’s traditional 60kg MMA event on Sunday. The victory took the Indian fighter into the semifinal and secured her a place on the podium.

Baigalmaa adopted an attacking approach in the second and final round as she attempted to recover the contest. Suchika absorbed the pressure effectively before executing a decisive reversal, taking her opponent to the ground and retaining control until the round ended.

 

The medal marks another significant milestone in Suchika’s combat-sports career, which has progressed from Judo to Ju-Jitsu and later to mixed martial arts.

A native of Rohtak in Haryana, Suchika started training at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. She subsequently moved to the Dada Dev Mandir Centre in Palam and later continued her preparation at SAI Bhopal.

 

She went on to become an eight-time National Judo Champion and represented India in more than 20 international competitions. Her achievements in Judo include gold medals at the 2019 Commonwealth Judo Championships and the 2019 South Asian Games, along with a silver medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Judo Championships.

 

Suchika also competed at several Asian Judo Championships and represented India at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in the women’s -57 kg category.

 

Her move to Ju-Jitsu brought another major success in 2024, when she won gold in the Adults Ju-Jitsu Contact Female -63 kg category at the JJIF Ju-Jitsu World Championships.

 

Suchika first entered MMA in 2017 and won her debut bout. She then took a seven-year break from the sport while continuing to compete in Judo and Ju-Jitsu.

 

She returned to professional MMA in December 2024 at BRAVE CF 92 in Bahrain after signing a multi-fight contract with BRAVE Combat Federation.

Beyond competition, Suchika has also worked in public service and sports administration. She was appointed a Head Constable in the CISF and later joined the Department of Sports, Haryana, as a Junior Coach.