From Singapore military service to Indian MMA: Varun Sanyal's fighting journey

An exhausting check-in, hours without a room or food, a blackout during a sauna session and, eventually, an Asian Games exit without even stepping inside the competition arena — Varun Sanyal's debut in Nagoya was anything but ordinary.

The Indian mixed martial artist first grabbed attention with his account of the logistical chaos he encountered after arriving in Nagoya, where he said he was left without a room to rest and food to eat for several hours.

Then came an even more unusual turn.

While attempting to cut weight without support staff, Sanyal passed out during a sauna session and was subsequently declared medically unfit for his traditional 77kg bout on Sunday.

Yet, the 28-year-old sees his journey in the sport as much bigger than one failed competition.

"I've been a lifelong athlete. I've played cricket, football, athletics, rugby in school. I picked MMA because I had watched it growing up. And I think it's the most beautiful and most valuable sport," Sanyal told PTI in an interview.

Born and brought up in Singapore, Sanyal holds permanent residency there but remains an Indian citizen. His father, Sanjeev Sanyal, is a member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Economic Advisory Council.

Sanyal studied Business Management at Queen Mary University of London and says his entry into MMA came during his military service in Singapore.

"I picked up MMA during military service in Singapore as PR of Singapore. I love to serve in the military. I was doing logistics over there. And that's around the time I picked up MMA," he said.

Singapore's permanent residency allows foreign nationals to live and work in the country indefinitely, while Sanyal continues to hold an Indian passport.

He is keen to correct what he considers a common misconception about his nationality.

"Many people wrongly say that I'm a citizen of a foreign country. I grew up in Singapore but I've been a citizen of India from the time I was born, and I still am an Indian citizen," he said.

Cricket was his first sporting love. Sanyal grew up playing the game in Singapore and also represented his university, but eventually found MMA offered him something different.

"I grew up playing cricket in Singapore, played it in university as well. But it doesn't make you feel alive like MMA does. It is not sort of adrenaline pumping. But, since I've been in India, I've been doing martial arts," he said.

His career has also taken him across borders, prompting Sanyal to describe himself as a "fighting nomad".

"I'm based in Delhi, my parents live there. But, I travel around to train. Recently, I've been to Australia, I'm a fighting nomad. My main team fights in London, in the UK and Warriors Cove in Gurgaon," he said.

"You have to get knowledge from everywhere. You can't just stick to one."

Sanyal began training and competing in India in 2022 after initially training in Singapore and Britain, both of which have established MMA ecosystems.

For the longest time, he remained an amateur before turning professional in June this year.

"When I qualified for the Asian Games back in January, I was an amateur. Now, I've turned professional as recent as in June," he said.

Sanyal has had 17 fights since 2022, winning 13 of them.

"I've had the privilege of fighting some of the best champions at the amateur level from all over the world," he said.

His Asian Games campaign may have ended before it began, but Sanyal has already found himself part of a larger moment for Indian MMA.

Suchika Tariyal won India's maiden MMA medal at the Games, securing bronze on Monday, and acknowledged Sanyal's support during the competition.

For Sanyal, the significance goes beyond the medal tally.

"We've seen a lot of Indian fighters in general get mocked online over time. And I want our next generation of fighters to look at someone like myself or Suchika and be like, okay, we can go out there and take on the world," he said.