‘I had no choice’: MMA fighter Varun Sanyal breaks silence after power cut that cut weight, calls himself ‘foolish’

NEW DELHI: Indian MMA fighter Varun Sanyal has broken his silence after being forced to withdraw from the Asian Games following a power cut during a sauna session, admitting that his attempt to lose weight was “quite stupid” in itself, but said he felt he had no choice.Sanyal, who was scheduled to compete in the traditional men’s 77kg event, collapsed while trying to make weight on his cruise ship on Sunday. He was subsequently declared medically unfit and unable to compete.“I came here two weeks in advance, I found out quite late. Apparently I had a lot of problems with accommodation and then I was all alone to lose weight. In retrospect, it was quite stupid of me,” Sanyal told PTI.“I had no choice but to do it alone. That’s a question, to be honest, I’d like the public to ask why I was alone? But you know, things happen, life goes on. I don’t want to sit here and feel sorry.”

‘I’m disappointed but prouder’

Sanyal, 27, was named in India’s Asian Games squad on September 2 after a late selection process. The MMA team traveled to Aichi-Nagoya without support staff, so Sanyal managed his weight loss on his own.“Yes, absolutely, I’m disappointed. I wanted to take part and show my skills. I have big ambitions for myself in this sport and I’ve backed myself to do well. But yes, I’ve moved on,” he said.“I think instead of focusing on what could happen, we’re focusing on what happened. And despite all the challenges the federation has faced over the last year, we got a medal, that’s huge. So yeah, rather than being disappointed, I’m more proud of such a good result.”Suchika Tariyal won India’s first MMA medal at the Games after losing in the semi-finals of the traditional women’s 60kg event.

“I found out two weeks before”

Sanyal said he qualified for the Asian Games in January but eventually shifted his focus to his professional career amid uncertainty over the selection process.“I qualified for the Asian Games back in January. But there was a lot of uncertainty around the qualification process. So I decided to shift my focus to my professional career. And I didn’t want the slot to remain empty. There was another athlete who raised his hands and qualified or went to Uzbekistan to qualify in May,” he said.“However, he didn’t place high enough in Asia. I was fourth in Asia. I was preparing for a professional cage match. And then, after two weeks, I found out my name was announced (for the Asian Games). So here I am.”Sanyal’s outing came after he had previously spoken out about logistical problems at the Games, including athletes having to wait eight to 10 hours without food to get to a room.MMA Sports Federation of India president Nikhil Kunder said Sanyal was found unconscious by a Nepali athlete who woke him up and alerted officials.“Fortunately, an athlete from Nepal found him in this condition and woke him up. Varun called me and we took him to the hospital,” Kunder told PTI.The Indian Olympic Association said Sanyal suffered “generalized convulsions and body aches” while in the sauna. He underwent medical examinations and preventive blood tests, which were normal, but withdrew after not feeling fully fit to compete in combat sports.