SportsPosted at: Sep 20 2026 6:59PM


From eve-teasing to MMA cage: Suchika's remarkable combat journey

Aichi-Nagoya (Japan), Sept 20 (UNI) From taking up judo at the age of 12 after an incident of eve-teasing to assuring India of its first-ever Asian Games MMA medal, Suchika Tariyal's remarkable combat-sport journey reached a historic milestone here on Sunday.
Suchika defeated Mongolia's Altanchimeg Baigalmaa 2-0 in the women's Traditional MMA 60 kg quarterfinal to enter the semifinals, assuring herself at least a bronze medal as MMA makes its Asian Games debut at the Aichi-Nagoya Games.
Her achievement is the latest chapter in a career that has taken her across judo, ju-jitsu and professional MMA.
A native of Rohtak, Haryana, Suchika came from a modest and conservative family and initially took up judo for self-defence after the eve-teasing incident. She began training at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium before moving to the Dada Dev Mandir Centre in Palam and later honing her skills at the Sports Authority of India centre in Bhopal.
The decision to learn self-defence soon developed into a competitive career. Suchika had to overcome family reservations, particularly over girls travelling for competitions, before establishing herself as an international-level judoka.
She went on to represent India in more than 20 international judo competitions and became an eight-time national champion.
Suchika won gold at the 2019 Commonwealth Judo Championships and the 2019 South Asian Games, besides claiming silver at the 2018 Commonwealth Judo Championships. She also represented India at multiple Asian Judo Championships and competed in the women's -57 kg category at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, narrowly missing a podium finish.
But judo was only the beginning.
In 2024, Suchika added another major achievement to her résumé by winning gold in the Adults Ju-Jitsu Contact Female -63 kg category at the JJIF Ju-Jitsu World Championships.
Her MMA journey had begun much earlier. She made her MMA debut in 2017 with a victory but then took a seven-year break from the sport while continuing to compete successfully in judo and ju-jitsu.
In November 2024, she signed a multi-fight contract with BRAVE Combat Federation in the Women's Strawweight division and returned to professional MMA at BRAVE CF 92 in Bahrain in December 2024, securing a victory.
Alongside her sporting career, Suchika was appointed a head constable in the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) before joining the Haryana Department of Sports as a junior coach.
With a judo career featuring national titles and international medals, a Ju-Jitsu World Championship gold and now a historic Asian Games MMA medal, Suchika's journey has come a long way from the 12-year-old who simply wanted to learn how to defend herself.
Her semifinal on Monday will give her an opportunity to move into the gold-medal bout, but regardless of the outcome, her quarterfinal victory has already secured her a place in Indian Asian Games history.
UNI BDN
Tags: #From eve-teasing to MMA cage: Suchika's remarkable combat journey
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