'I Was Robbed of Gold at Asian Games' India's 1st MMA Medallist Suchika Tariyal's Big Claim

History was made at the Asian Games 2026 by Suchika Tariyal as she won India’s first MMA medal. But the historic feat was overshadowed by the controversy of her not shaking hands with her Singaporean opponent after losing in the semis. The match was drawn and Suchika lost due to being 700 grams heavier than Singapore’s Hui Hoon Teo.

Now, Suchika has made a huge claim that she was ‘robbed of a gold at Asian Games’. She said that she was ‘winning the bout’ and it was then called a draw. She wished both of them were declared winners. The 36-year-old believes that given how well she was doing, she would have won gold if she made it to the final. But Suchika added that she was content with bronze, and since MMA is not part of the Olympics, she will now prepare for the World Championship.

"I was clearly winning the bout, but it was declared a draw very strangely. Instead of (having) one more round, they applied these weird weight rules which virtually robbed me of my deserving gold medal. Regarding the weight rule, I felt it was a very bad rule. They could have let me play one more round. Even if I had lost that round, I could have accepted it, but I could not accept what happened," she told PTI after returning to India.

"I am very happy to get a medal. The way I was playing, it looked like I would win the gold medal. I know how I reached that stage. I worked very hard, and I couldn't lose like that. As far as I know, I was winning both the bouts. Even in the one-minute round, I was dominating her. She was running backwards, and I was on top of her. I had told you that the federation is from Singapore, so maybe they had to make her win," she added.

Indian Semi-Finalist Suchika refuses to accept loss in MMA at Asian Games 2026 against Singaporean Player

Suchika lost a dramatic semifinal to Singapore’s Tiffany Teo after regulation time ended in a draw.

The 1-minute overtime was initially awarded 2–1 to Teo. India protested, and arbitration later ruled the bout a tie.

Under tournament rules, a tied bout goes to the lighter athlete. Suchika was about 700g heavier, so Singapore advanced to the final.

"Maybe they had already made a commitment internationally and could not go back on their word. When I raised the issue with the federation, the match was declared a draw. They said both of us were equal, but then they gave her the win. I could have been given the win as well. I do not know why they did that. I am not saying it was cheating. If you are declaring the match a draw, you could have given me the win too. What was my shortcoming that you gave her the win? That is all I want to say," she also said.

"You can call it bad luck. I am not saying that I was defeated because of cheating. I am very happy; I cannot express it. Still, I am happy that I have won a bronze medal because it is more precious to me than my life. I have worked extremely hard for it. There is the World Championship, and I will prepare for that. I have more fights coming up, so I will fight there as well. MMA can also potentially be part of the Olympics. It is not there at the moment, but it could be included in the future. I will continue with my preparation," she continued.