Suchika Tariyal’s Asian Games 2026 Heartbreak: Appeal Turns Fight Into Draw, 700g Tiebreak Ends Gold Medal Hopes

India’s Suchika Tariyal endured a heartbreaking finish to her Asian Games MMA semifinal, with a disputed result ultimately decided by a 700-gram weight difference. Tariyal secured a historic bronze medal in the women’s traditional 60kg category, becoming India’s first Asian Games medallist in MMA as the sport made its debut at the Games.

Tariyal faced Singapore’s Teo Hui Hoon in the semifinal in a closely contested bout. Teo was initially declared the winner after the fight went into an extra round. Suchika was distraught after the bout, and was confident she had done enough to win the clash. Her camp subsequently launched an appeal into the judges decision.

As per journalist Boria Majumdar, the appeal resulted in the contest being determined to be a draw after the footage was reviewed. However, the revised decision did not send Tariyal through to the final. The applicable competition rules meant another tiebreak had to be used to determine the winner.

700 grams decide the outcome

Under the MMA competition rules, a tied contest can ultimately be decided using the fighters’ weight when the relevant earlier tiebreakers do not separate them. In Tariyal’s case, the decisive difference was reportedly 700 grams, with Teo being the lighter fighter. That weight advantage ultimately gave the Singaporean fighter the decision and a place in the final.

The result meant Tariyal’s challenge could not take her into the gold-medal bout despite the contest being level after the review. The Indian fighter was left visibly emotional following the decision and was comforted by members of her team. Her campaign nevertheless ended with a historic medal for India.