Suchika Tariyal: India's First Asian Games MMA Medallist

Suchika Tariyal (also written Suchika Tariyal Hooda) has represented India in judo, kurash, jiu-jitsu and mixed martial arts. Her bronze at Aichi-Nagoya 2026 made her the first Indian to win an Asian Games medal in MMA, a sport that debuted at the Games this year.

She has also appeared on MTV Roadies and Prime Video's India's Ultimate Warrior, and has built a sizeable social media following.

• Date of Birth: 16 August 1990
• Current Age: 36 years old (as of 2026)
• Birth Place: Budhana, Uttar Pradesh
• Home Town: Rohtak, Haryana, where she grew up

For anyone from Uttarakhand, the name Tariyal sounds instantly familiar, because it is a surname commonly found among Garhwali families. So when Suchika won India's first Asian Games MMA medal, many in the hills naturally wanted to know: is she one of us?

Here is what we know. Most profiles, including those by Olympics.com and PTI, introduce her as an athlete from Rohtak, Haryana. One report, by SSBCrack News, adds that her roots also run to Delhi and Uttarakhand.

Her schooling and any service in Uttarakhand have not been publicly confirmed yet. We will update this section as soon as reliable information is available.

Suchika grew up in a modest, conservative family in Rohtak. Some relatives, her grandmother in particular, had reservations about a girl travelling to compete, though her parents backed her. At 12, an eve-teasing incident made her want to learn self-defence, and she took up judo.

She trained at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi, then at the Dada Dev Mandir Centre in Palam, and later at SAI Bhopal. She went on to compete in more than 20 international judo events.

Suchika has said her family stood by her from childhood, and that her husband backed her after marriage. She dedicated the Asian Games medal to her parents and her husband.

• Father: Rajender Singh Tadiyal (spelling as per ANI), a retired government servant, who said her hard work had paid off and her dreams had come true.
• Mother: Lajwanti Tariyal, a homemaker, who said the family was extremely happy that Suchika won India's first MMA medal at the Asian Games.
• Sisters: Suchika is one of four sisters and has no brother. Her mother put her into judo, and her elder sister also practised judo with her.
• Husband: Kapil Hooda, who called the bronze special because MMA made its Asian Games debut, and who kept telling her "you can do it".
• Village: Kiloi, Rohtak district. PTI describes her as hailing from Kiloi, and the village celebrated her medal and prepared a grand welcome.

• Judo: The foundation of her career. It gave her the grappling and ground-fighting skills that later helped in MMA, and she competed in the 57kg category at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, narrowly missing a medal.
• Kurash: Represented India at the Hangzhou Asian Games (held in 2023), her first Asian Games.
• Jiu-jitsu: Her next step after judo, which took her to the top of that sport in 2024.
• MMA: Winning debut in 2017, then a seven-year break. She returned at BRAVE CF 92 in Bahrain in December 2024 on a multi-fight BRAVE deal, then added national and Asian-level podiums.

Her place came through results. The Mixed Martial Arts Sports Federation of India (MMA-SFI) used the Asian MMA Ranking Series as part of the qualification pathway for Aichi-Nagoya. Suchika won bronze in the women's 60kg traditional event at the fourth Asian MMA Championship in Tashkent, which helped secure India's representation.

India entered two MMA athletes for Aichi-Nagoya: Suchika (women's traditional 60kg) and Varun Sanyal (men's traditional 77kg). Sanyal withdrew before his event for medical reasons, so Suchika was India's only MMA competitor on the mat.

MMA was held on 20-22 September 2026 at the Inae Sports Center, Nagoya. Both losing semi-finalists receive bronze, so there is no separate bronze match.

Her Asian Games preparation included a six-week camp in Mumbai under coaches Nikhil and Sushobhan, according to PTI. Full names were not given in the reports. After the medal she said it meant a lot to her and her coaches, who had worked very hard to reach this point.

• Proof that a late switch of discipline can still end on an Asian Games podium
• A role model for women in Indian combat sports, inspired by her own self-defence story
• A medal that opens the door for India's next generation of MMA athletes

From the judo mats of Rohtak to the Asian Games podium in Nagoya, Suchika Tariyal's journey shows how far persistence and a willingness to switch disciplines can go.