Suchika Tariyal won bronze in the women’s traditional 60kg category of mixed martial arts at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya on Monday, giving India its first medal in the sport at the Games.
Mixed martial arts is making its debut on the Asian Games programme this year.
Semi-final settled on body weight
Tariyal lost her semi-final to Teo Hui Hoon of Singapore. The bout went to a tiebreaker that was decided on body weight, and Teo, the lighter of the two, went through.
Tariyal disputed the result. She said she felt she was winning the bout with her takedowns and argued that performance, not body weight, should decide the winner.
“I tried my absolute best to change the colour of this medal,” she said, adding that “the decision didn’t go in my favour”.
Prime Minister’s message
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated her on Tuesday. “A historic achievement for India! Congratulations to Suchika Tariyal on winning a Bronze in Mixed Martial Arts,” he wrote, noting it was India’s first medal in the discipline at the Games.
The bronze adds to India’s Asian Games campaign in Japan.
Bout details and quotes as reported by The Tribune. Prime Minister’s statement via PIB.
