Top Indian Female Olympic Winners of All Time
‘Quick steps, big leaps, high hopes.’
Olympic Games, an athletic festival that is said to have originated in Greece has often been regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition. It was only in the late 19th century this sporting festival gained widespread prominence and professional athletes from different countries began to participate in as many as 32 different competitive sports.
From Paris 1900 to Paris 2024, India’s Olympic journey spans over a century, with extreme highs and lows as our talented athletes have continued to contribute immensely to India’s medal tally so far. Out of the total medals won, women have played a pivotal role and secured nine medals so far, bringing glory to the nation through their actions.
Badminton ace PV Sindhu is the only Indian woman to have won more than one medal at the Olympics – a silver medal in women’s singles event at the Rio 2016 games and a bronze at the Tokyo 2020 event. Weightlifter Karnam Malleswari was the first Indian woman ever to win an Olympic medal, a bronze at Sydney 2000, and etched her name in the books of history.
Let us look at these women athletes and learn more about their sporting moment that helped clinch the medal and led them on the path to victory.
1. Karnam Malleswari:
Weightlifter Karnam Malleswari created history and became the first Indian woman ever to win a medal at the prestigious Olympics Games. During the Sydney 2000 event, Karnam lifted 110kg in the snatch and 130kg in the clean and jerk categories respectively for a total of 240kgs.
She finished the competition with a bronze medal and is the first Indian weightlifter to win an Olympic medal.
2. Saina Nehwal:
Former world No.1 player from Haryana, Saina Nehwal put Indian badminton on the global map when she won a bronze medal in the women’s singles category at the London 2012 Olympics. Her opponent Wang Xin from China retired due to injury during the bronze medal playoff match.
Saina Nehwal became the first Indian player from the world of badminton to win an Olympic medal and has further represented the nation in three Summer Games after that.
3. Mary Kom:
The noteworthy achievement of Mary Kom’s illustrious career came at the London 2012 Olympics, who was the only Indian female boxer at the competition. She made history by winning a bronze medal in the women’s flyweight division. The Manipuri boxer beat her fierce opponents in the first two rounds but lost her semi-final bout, settling for the bronze medal.
It was the first Olympic medal in boxing as a sport by an Indian woman as women’s boxing made its Olympic debut at the London 2012 games.
4. PV Sindhu:
Probably one of the best female athletes of India in the modern period, PV Sindhu carried on what Saina Nehwal had achieved previously and took Indian badminton a step further by reaching the women’s singles final at the Rio 2016 Games. She lost the final against Carolina from Spain and secured a silver medal. PV Sindhu created history by becoming India’s youngest individual medallist and the first Indian woman to bag an Olympic silver medal.
Her medal kitty expanded after clinching a bronze at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. After cruising through the group stages and knock-out rounds, she defeated her Chinese counterpart in the playoff to clinch the deserving medal. With her win, PV Sindhu became the first Indian woman and only the third athlete from the country so far to win two individual Olympic medals.
5. Sakshi Malik:
Indian wrestler Sakshi Malik won a bronze medal in the women’s 58kg category at the Rio 2016 Olympic games to become the first Indian woman to win a medal in wrestling as a sport event. She is a freestyle former wrestler; with Sakshi’s win at Rio Olympics becoming a memorable one as she claimed her victory spot despite trailing in her scores at one stage of the bout.
In 2017, the Government of India honored her with the Padma Shri, the country’s fourth-highest civilian award and in 2024, she became the first Indian wrestler to feature in Time magazine’s list of the ‘100 Most Influential People in the World.’
6. Mirabai Chanu:
Weightlifter Mirabai Chanu with a total lift of 202kg, won the silver medal in the 49kg category at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic games. She secured her silver medal position after being beaten by the Chinese opponent and became the first Indian weightlifter to bag a silver at the Olympics.
Hailing from a small state of Manipur, her rise to glory is nothing short of an inspirational tale. Mirabai became the second Indian weightlifter after Karnam Malleswari to win a medal. In addition, she has been a world champion and a three-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist too.
7. Lovlina Borgohain:
The dynamic female boxer from Assam, Lovlina Borgohain clinched a bronze medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic games. She defeated the competitors from Germany and China to guarantee herself a bronze medal.
Lovlina won a bronze in the women’s welterweight category (69kg) to become the third Indian boxer with an Olympic medal after following in the footsteps and emulating the stalwarts Mary Kom and Vijender Singh. In 2023, Lovlina was crowned the world champion in the women’s middleweight (75kg) division.
8. Manu Bhaker:
The latest entrant to the woman Olympic medal bandwagon is Manu Bhaker from Haryana. She won India’s first medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics with a bronze in the women’s 10m Air Pistol shooting event, the first woman to win a medal in shooting as an international sport.
Manu had also claimed a second medal, in the 10m mixed air rifle event and was felicitated with a bronze medal in that too, at the same Paris 2024 Olympics, creating history as an Indian woman to win two medals in the same event.
My Perspective:
Olympics Event, organized once in every four years and spearheaded by IOC (International Olympic Committee) is the topmost event for athletes from all the countries to represent their nation and rise to fame at a global level. The Olympics bring together athletes and spectators from around the world to a single host city, creating a melting pot of languages, traditions and customs.
It surely serves as a source of inspiration and strengthens India’s stake on the world stage level. With a bright bunch of competent sports people who are masters in their own right, India definitely has an edge and can increase its medal tally with all editions as new champions come up on the sporting block.
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