Suchika Tariyal is now at the forefront of the Indian MMA scene as she clinched a historic bronze medal in the women’s traditional 60 kg category. However, it was the rules that prevented Suchika from making it to the final and contesting for the gold medal.
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Suchika was beaten by Singapore’s Hui Hoon Teo in a contest that had fans on the edge of their seats. Suchika and Teo brought their A-game on the day, and the initial exchanges showed why it was going to be tough for the judges to decide it. Suchika used her judo game to perfection, bringing her opponent to the ground and delivering some heavy blows. Teo was able to, however, control the contest with her superior boxing.
The first round went in the favour of the Singapore star, meaning that Suchika needed a comeback. And she delivered just that in the second round. Towards the end of the round, the Indian star was able to bring her opponent down once again to the ground and was able to control her, gaining the advantage. Unlike the first one, she wasn’t able to trap the arm of Teo.
Nonetheless, she won the round, meaning that the fight went into extra time of one minute. Here, Teo controlled the fight as Suchika tried her best to land some punches in but to no avail.
During the time of the announcement of the result, Suchika was visibly emotional and not happy with the result. She didn’t join the ref and Teo in the middle and protested the outcome.
HOW THE RULES COST SUCHIKA?
Soon after the fight was done, the MMA federation stepped in to protest the result and pay USD 1000 to change the result from a loss to a tie. Usually, you have only three judges deciding the fight, but actually there are a total of 10.
The judges viewed the footage and decided that result was a draw. But this is when the rules kicked in, and it was decided that Teo won the bout since she was lighter than Suchika by 700 gms.
WHAT DO THE RULES SAY?
The Asian MMA rules clearly state what happens in the case of a tie in overtime. The winner will be determined by first checking whether either athlete received any warnings during the game.
If both athletes received the same number of warnings, the advice they received will be taken into consideration. If the advice given to both athletes is also the same, their pre-competition weights will be compared.
If their weights before the competition are identical, their post-competition weights will be considered. Should those also be the same, the three assistant referees will raise flags to decide the winner.
In this case, 700 gms proved to be the turning point for Suchika as she missed out on the final as Teo won the bout by Break Tie by Weight.
But there is a lot to be proud for the 36-year-old, whose journey of resilience will be an inspiration for the up-and-coming talent in Indian MMA.
– Ends
