Indian Mixed Martial Arts: Indian Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) star Suchika Tariyal revealed her dominating game plan after assuring India of a historic medal at the Asian Games after she moved into the semifinal of the traditional 60 kg category in the Asian Games 2026 on Sunday.
Tariyal defeated Mongolia’s Altanchimeg Baigalmaa to secure a 2-0 win in the quarterfinal and assure India’s first medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Games.
She was extremely happy after securing a medal but put her focus on winning the semifinal and fighting for the gold. “I feel very good that I have confirmed a medal for my country. I hope to perform well tomorrow and play in the gold medal match,” Suchika said.
She is set to play her semifinal on Monday, when she will look to make it to the final on Tuesday. Speaking on her performance, Suchika stated that she went with her coaches’ advice and looks for more success ahead. “As my coaches have told me, I went with the same game plan. I have to play the same way as I have played earlier. My game plan is the same; I would see to finish the fight with a takedown and ground and pound win or win it with submission,” she said.
Suchika revealed that she has been playing combat sports since childhood and that she began with judo, which helped her in MMA. “I have been playing this game since my childhood. It was my dream since childhood to learn fighting. So I chose judo, due to which I have been able to come this far.
“It is important to have a good and perfect base. Judo helped me a lot in this. I have worked very hard to achieve this. I used to do it for judo, now I am doing it for MMA,” she said.
Suchika also opened up on the rigours of training in Mumbai, where she had a six-week camp in the gym. “I prepared for this in Mumbai, which was my six-week camp. The gym where I trained under Nikhil sir in One Punch,” she said.
“He perfected everything for me. Whatever the shortcomings were, he focused on those things, which I was able to do here today. My camp was also very good,” she said.
Article Source: IANS
