India’s Suchika Tariyal clinched a gold medal in the Adults Ju-Jitsu Contact Female -63kg category at the JJIF Ju-Jitsu World Championships in Heraklion, Greece, on Sunday.
Suchika won the yellow metal ahead of Syvch Oleksandra of Ukraine, who won the silver medal.
This win marked a significant moment in Suchika’s career.
The 34-year-old, who missed out on a medal at the Commonwealth Games in 2022, picked up the combat sport to confront eve-teasing. She became a victim of eve teasing at the age of 12.
Suchika hails from a conservative family in Delhi. She battled prejudices to pursue the sport as there was family pressure, especially from her grandmother, that the girls should not be allowed to travel outside the home.
The athlete found support in his husband Kapil Hooda after their marriage in 2018. The couple lives in Rohtak, Haryana. “He is my biggest pillar of strength. So, competing in the CWG is a lot to me and I am all set to give my best shot,” Suchika told News Drum in 2022.
Earlier, Suchika competed in the 48kg and 57kg categories before switching to 63kg.
Her introduction to the sport happened at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, in New Delhi, and later she shifted to Dada Dev Mandir Centre at Palam, Delhi.
Suchika won her first medal in 2007 at the national-level age group category. She made a rapid rise and got her first international exposure at the World Cup in Paris in 2011.
Suchika won two medals Commonwealth Championships – silver in 2018 and gold in 2019. She did well at the South Asian Federation Games, winning two gold.
With her latest success, Suchika will be hungry to achieve more success in her career.
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