In March 2017, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India, appointed Akhil Kumar along with Mary Kom as national observers for boxing.

[3] In the 2006 Commonwealth Games he won the gold medal in the Bantamweight 54 kg category by edging out Nigerian Nestor Bolum and defeating Mauritian Bruno Julie in the final.

At the Olympic event, he made his way to the second round in the Bantamweight 54 kg category beating Frenchman Ali Hallab on points 12-5.

The score was tied 9-9 at the end of the fourth round but the judges decided in Kumar's favor because he landed a greater number of punches.

In the AIBA World Cup 2008 held in Moscow, Kumar beat Marcel Schinder of Germany in the quarterfinals with a margin of 15-6.