Suchika Tariyal etched her name in Indian sporting history on Monday, becoming the first Indian to win an Asian Games medal in Mixed Martial Arts, with a bronze in the women’s Traditional 60kg category at Aichi-Nagoya 2026.

Tariyal’s historic run ended in the semifinal, where she went down 2-0 to Singapore’s Hui Hoon Teo. 

Despite missing out on a place in the final, her semifinal appearance had already guaranteed India its maiden MMA medal at the Asian Games 2026.

The Indian fighter had booked her place in the last four on Sunday after overcoming Mongolia’s Altanchimeg Baigalmaa. Baigalmaa mounted intense pressure in the second round, but Tariyal held her ground defensively before producing a crucial reversal and taking the contest to the mat, where she maintained control until the final bell.

Tariyal’s achievement comes after compatriot Varun Sanyal was forced to withdraw from his MMA campaign due to medical reasons, leaving her as India’s sole competitor in the discipline.

India also added another silver to its medal haul on Monday, with Rudrankksh Patil, Parth Mane and Himanshu Dhillon finishing second in the men’s 10m air rifle team event. The trio scored 1890.1, behind China’s 1899.0, while South Korea took bronze.

With Tariyal’s bronze added to the three shooting silvers, India’s medal tally stands at four, with three silver and one bronze.