Asian Games 2026: MMA fighter Varun Sanyal disqualified from quarterfinals

FILE PHOTO: Varun Sanyal was the lone Indian in the Men’s Traditional (-77kg) category. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Indian MMA fighter Varun Sanyal was disqualified from the ongoing Asian Games 2026 on Sunday.

He had received a bye in the preliminaries before advancing to the quarterfinals. Sanyal was set to face Bahrain’s Mukhammad Nabiev.

Sanyal, son of Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council member Sanjiv Sanyal, was trying to cut his weight for Sunday’s competition.

“Fortunately, he was found in that state by an athlete from Nepal who woke him up. Varun was able to call me and we took him to hospital.

“There was not much to be worried about, so he was brought back to the cruise around 3:00am. He is now stable and out of trouble,” MMA Sports Federation of India president Nikhil Kundera told PTI.

Sanyal was the lone Indian in the Men’s Traditional (-77kg) category.

Earlier in the day, the other Indian in MMA, Suchika Tariyal, confirmed a medal as she progressed to the women’s traditional -60kg semifinals.

(With PTI inputs)

Published on Sep 20, 2026

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