India’s Suchika Tariyal was eliminated from the 2026 Asian Games after her women’s MMA 60kg semifinal against Singapore’s Tiffany Teo ended in a controversial draw.
The bout at the Nagoya City Inae Sports Centre remained level after regulation time on Monday. Officials then sent the fighters into a one-minute overtime to determine the finalist.
Overtime Decision Sparks Protest
Teo was initially awarded the overtime 2-1. However, Indian officials protested the decision, leading to a review through arbitration.
The contest was eventually declared a tie. The tournament regulations then determined the winner based on the fighters’ weight.
Under the rules, the lighter fighter wins when a bout remains level after the required stages.
Teo weighed around 700 grams less than Tariyal. She was therefore declared the winner and advanced to the final.
Tariyal was eliminated despite the two fighters remaining inseparable on the scoreboard throughout regulation and overtime.
The Indian fighter also refused to accept the result immediately after the bout, adding to the tension surrounding the finish.
Teo Reaches Asian Games Final
Teo had already produced a strong performance in the quarter-finals.
The Singaporean fighter defeated Iran’s Arezou Salimighalehtaki 3-0 to reach the semifinal.
She will now face Uzbekistan’s Khilola Sobirova in Tuesday’s final. The result has already guaranteed Teo a silver medal.
The achievement also secured Singapore’s first-ever Asian Games medal in MMA.
Both losing semifinalists receive bronze medals under the competition format.
MMA Makes Asian Games Debut
MMA is making its Asian Games debut at the Aichi-Nagoya Games in 2026.
The sport is one of six disciplines appearing at the continental event for the first time.
The other debut sports are freestyle BMX, padel, surfing, teqball and virtual taekwondo.
For Tariyal, however, the debut ended in disappointment after a closely contested semifinal was ultimately decided by the tournament’s weight-based rule.
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