Suchika Tariyal created history by winning India’s first MMA medal at the Asian Games, but behind the bronze was a campaign marred by alleged administrative lapses that left her and fellow fighter Varun Sanyal without regular access to their coaches and forced them to manage crucial weight cuts largely on their own.
For Sanyal, the ordeal ended before he could enter the ring. The 27-year-old collapsed while cutting weight alone and was subsequently declared medically unfit.
Speaking exclusively to The Free Press Journal, Sanyal detailed a troubled campaign in Aichi-Nagoya that he said involved a 30-hour journey, accreditation problems, coaches being denied access to the athletes and the difficulties of preparing for competition without adequate support.
A 30-Hour Travel Nightmare and Accreditation Shambles
Sanyal found out about his selection on September 2, less than three weeks before the Asian Games, not through official channels but through news reports while preparing for his professional career.
What followed was a punishing 30-hour journey from London to India, Singapore and finally Nagoya. Upon landing at 9 am, his name was missing from the accreditation system. Sent between an exhibition centre and a cruise ship, he was left stranded without food. It was not until 8 pm, 11 hours later, that he was allotted a room, which had been assigned to three people despite being meant for two.
“I was training in London, then came to India for my ID to serve as my Japanese visa, travelled to Singapore where I live, and finally arrived in Nagoya, about 30 hours of travel in total. When I landed at 9 am, they couldn't find me in the system. After waiting a couple of hours, they told me to go to the cruise ship which was another 40 minutes away."
“At the cruise ship, because my name wasn’t showing up, they even doubted if I was a competing athlete. I then spoke to the Chef de Mission, who told me to wait at another venue where I finally got some food. There were no facilities or restaurants near the venues. I wasn’t allotted a room until after 8 pm. And funnily enough, it was the same room assigned to two Chinese athletes: three people packed into a space meant for two.”
Language Barriers, No Support
It was particularly difficult for Sanyal because the MMA contingent, him and Tariyal, had no staff or coaches with them. Because of language barriers, Sanyal had to shoulder the administrative paperwork for himself and Tariyal.
While they had personal coaches, who paid out of their own pockets to be in Japan, the coaches were not allowed on the cruise ship where the athletes were staying. The coaches were also stopped from being by Tariyal’s side during her quarter-final.
“Language is a huge barrier, and Suchika doesn’t speak English very well, so I had to do the formalities for her as well. We had two coaches, but both of their accreditations were rejected, meaning they travelled as personal coaches and were allowed limited access. So, they weren’t allowed on the cruise. Which is why we had to do weight cuts on our own.”
Varun's collapse
Sanyal helped Tariyal through her weight cuts but had to do his weight cut alone as they had separate saunas and she was not allowed in his. The 27-year-old weighs about 80kg and needed to get his weight to around the 75kg mark, given the belt also weighs an additional 1.5kg. While not impossible, doing it alone is what put him at serious risk.
“I was doing my weight cut alone and felt like I had a head rush after I tried to get on my feet quickly. I was sitting on the bench when a Nepali fighter asked me if I was okay. I gave him my phone and asked him to speak to my coach. I was then taken to the medic.
Even the medics did not speak English. It was complete chaos. My coaches couldn't be there, so they had to use a translator on their phones to have any conversation. I was then asked to do blood tests and the rest before being declared medically unfit.”
A Historic Bronze and What Could Have Been
Suchika’s bronze is India’s first-ever medal in MMA at the Asian Games. The medal was also not without controversy. Tariyal was crestfallen after she was deemed to have lost her semi-final bout. Nikhil Kunder, president of the MMA-SFI, immediately appealed against the decision, which later revealed that the fight was in fact a draw. Tariyal lost on a tiebreak as she was 700g heavier than her opponent.
For Sanyal, Tariyal’s bronze ultimately offered some consolation after a campaign in which the two fighters had to navigate accreditation problems, limited access to their coaches and the demands of making weight largely on their own. But he believes the outcome could have been different with better support.
“Her winning the bronze was the silver lining from this chaos. Who knows, if Suchika had her coaches around her, maybe she could have cut that weight. This bronze could have been a gold,” he said.
