The country has still not forgotten the pain of Vinesh Phogat's disqualification in Paris Olympics 2024. Vinesh had created history by reaching the women's 50 kg free-style wrestling final. She was going to challenge for the historic gold but before the final she was found to be 100 grams overweight, due to which she was declared disqualified.
Vinesh could not win any medal. He had to return empty handed from Paris. Now a similar case has come to light in the Asian Games 2026 being held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. For Indian Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter Suchika Tariyal, 700 grams of excess weight proved to be the enemy.
Suchika played a draw with Singapore's Hui Hun Teo in the semi-finals of the women's 60 kg category on Monday (September 21) but Teo was declared the winner on the basis of lower weight. In this way Suchika missed playing the gold medal match. He had to be satisfied with bronze. He confirmed this medal by making it to the semi-finals. This was India's first medal in the MMA sport, which was debuting in the Asiad.
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Suchika started crying bitterly.
As soon as the decision of Tio being declared the winner came, Suchika started crying bitterly on the mat. He made a tremendous comeback in the match but was forced to face the rules. The semi-final match was very close and ended in a draw after the stipulated time. Tio attacked in the last few seconds but Tsuchika took her opponent down as soon as the fight ended.
Tio had the upper hand in the first round but Suchika made a strong comeback in the second round. Neither of them could gain a clear lead, after which the match went into a one-minute extra round. Suchika felt that she had performed well enough to win, while Teo also celebrated the victory after the match ended.
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The coach consoled
Initially the match was decided in favor of Teo but after the challenge of the Indian team, the result was declared a draw. After this the winner was decided on the basis of morning weight of both the players. Teo was declared the winner 2–0 and advanced to the final. Suchika looked extremely disappointed with this decision. She did not immediately shake hands with her opponent or the referee. His coach consoled him.
Indian MMA Federation President Nikhil Kunde told news agency PTI, 'After Suchika challenged, the result of the fight was declared a draw. After this the winner was decided on the basis of morning weight. The weight of the Singapore player was about 700 grams less than Suchika, hence she reached the final.
Started martial arts after street harassment
Suchika, a 36-year-old player from Haryana, started martial arts at the age of 12 after facing street harassment. After this she became a player representing India in many martial arts disciplines. He represented India in judo at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and Kurash at the 2023 Asian Games.