India has witnessed several female sports athletes and players who created history and reached the global stage by representing the country at the Olympics. Below are some female athletes who won Olympic medals for India.
Karnam Malleswari (Sydney 2000 – Bronze)
Weightlifter Karnam Malleswari is the first Indian woman to win a medal at the Olympics. At the 2000 Sydney Games, she won the 110kg and 130kg categories by a clean and jerk finish, finishing with a total of 240kg, which earned her a bronze medal. The victory also made her the first Indian to win an Olympic medal in the sport of weightlifting.
Saina Nehwal (London 2012 – Bronze)
Former world No.1 with 24 international titles, Saina Nehwal was the first Indian to bring an Olympic medal in badminton for the country. She won a bronze in the women’s singles event at the 2012 London Olympics. In the playoffs, Nehwal defeated People’s Republic of China Wang Xin, who had to leave after getting retired hurt after sustaining an injury. She then advanced in the semi-finals, where she lost to China’s Wang Yihan by sets of 13–21, 13–21. Besides this, Nehwal has participated in three Summer Games, including 2008 Beijing, 2012 London and 2016 Rio.
Mary Kom (London 2012 – Bronze)
Besides Nehwal, star boxer Mary Kom got India another bronze medal at the London Olympics. She won the first two rounds of the playoffs after defeating Poland’s Karolina Michalczuk and Tunisia’s Maroua Rahali, but lost her semi-finals match against Great Britain’s Nicola Adams, which got her the bronze medal. Mary gave India its second Olympic medal in boxing and its first-ever medal achieved by a woman. The first medal was won by Vijender Singh, who got a bronze at the 2008 Beijing Games.
PV Sindhu (Rio 2016 – Silver)
After Saina Nehwal, it was PV Sindhu who carried on the badminton legacy, which has been nothing short of a promising one. At the 2016 Rio Games, Sindhu lost her finals game to Spain’s Carolina Marin after an intense 83-minute battle. She finished second with a silver medal at the Games but created history by becoming India’s youngest Olympic medalist to win an individual event. She is also the first to win a silver medal in the Olympics. She did not stop at this; later, at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she won a bronze medal in the women’s singles event after winning the playoffs against eighth-seed He Bingjiao of China. She, however, lost her semi-finals match to Chinese Taipei’s Tai Tzu-ying by sets of 18–21, 12–21.
Sakshi Malik (Rio 2016 – Bronze)
At the 2016 Rio Games, Indian wrestler Sakshi Malik won bronze in the women’s 58kg event, becoming the country’s first female medalist in wrestling. After losing to Russia’s Valeria Koblova in the quarter-finals, she entered the repechage and defeated Kyrgyzstan’s Aisuluu Tynybekova 8–5.
Mirabai Chanu (Tokyo 2020 – Silver)
The Indian weightlifter brought the country a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. Participating in the 49kg category, she picked up a total weight of 202kg. With the victory, she became the first Indian weightlifter and second woman athlete to win a silver at the Olympics. After Karnam Malleswari, she is the second weightlifter to win a medal at the Summer Games.
Lovlina Borgohain (Tokyo 2020 – Bronze)
After the great woman boxer Mary Kom, it was time for Lovlina Borgohain to lead. The Indian boxer won a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics after defeating Chinese Taipei’s Chen Nien-chin in the quarter-finals. Before that, she won against Germany’s Nadine Apetz in the 16th round. Borgohain, however, lost her semi-finals match against Turkey’s world No. 1 Busenaz Surmeneli.
Manu Bhaker (Paris 2024 – Bronze)
Manu Bhaker became the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal in shooting by earning bronze in the women’s 10m air pistol at the 2024 Paris Games. Her qualification also made her the first Indian woman finalist in the event in 20 years. In the women’s 10m air pistol event, Bhaker scored 221.7 among eight finalists. The Republic of Korea’s Oh Ye Jin won the gold medal with a record of 243.2, and Yeji Kim won the silver with a final score of 241.3.
