Suchika Tariyal was standing on the mat in Nagoya, not happy with the result. A strange tie-breaker rule had denied her path to the gold medal bout after her semifinal fight against Singapore’s Teo Hui Hoon ended in a draw. The judges took the two combatants’ weights into account, determined that the Singaporean was 700 grams lighter than her and awarded victory to Teo. Tariyal had broken down in tears, but ultimately, the 36-year-old accepted the bronze medal. History was made in Indian sports as Tariyal became the first-ever competitor from India to win an Asian Games medal in Mixed Martial Arts.
Indian MMA has been battling for recognition for years, with fighters making sacrifices to make ends meet in dingy gyms and treating their own injuries. The Sports Authority of India has long been uninterested in the development of this niche sport, leaving athletes to fend for themselves. Families have been alienated from combat sports due to the gruesome nature of boxing or wrestling that Indian athletes have to endure. Tariyal herself started her journey in the world of MMA when she won medals in Judo; it took her two decades to come around to the decision to switch to a more dangerous and unrestrained sport. Even before making it to the finals, her quarterfinal victory against Mongolia’s Altanchimeg Baigalmaa showed that the traditional training style of Indian combat sports has strong potential when it comes to the continental level.
It seems that the issues holding Indian fighters back from international acclaim have been cleared at least partially. Indian sports fans may not have known what to expect from the MMA events at the Asian Games, but now there is a new standard to aim for. Tariyal’s achievement might bring more funding and official recognition to the sport as it competes with other disciplines for medal counts. State-owned sports bodies will start to invest more money into promoting MMA, hosting events, and offering fighters public sector jobs or pensions.
Traditional wrestling is an important part of India’s combat sports legacy. It produces talented athletes, but the system only allows a tiny percentage to advance to the Olympics. Wrestlers do have a lot of common ground with MMA fighters in terms of technique, and Indian sports fans seem to have warm feelings towards it. In a similar vein, most hopefuls in MMA are sent away after having devoted everything to the sport without seeing results. Tariyal’s legacy will allow these people to have a second chance.
A successful national-level competitor will undoubtedly seek to leave the country and compete in the international arena due to the abysmal state of the sport at home, and the door is now open for him or her to do so. This will undoubtedly pressure the domestic leagues to improve. Disreputable fight organisations that used to take advantage of aspiring fighters will have to step up and offer better conditions or see their athletes defect in droves. Traditional promoters and advertisers will take notice and begin the path to legitimising MMA as a national sport. After this historic win, Indian MMA is positioned to make noise on the international stage.