[10][11] In 2017, the Government of India honoured 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.

[17] In December 2023, she announced her retirement from wrestling after the election of a close aide of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh as WFI chief.

[24][3] Malik's first success as a professional wrestler in the international arena came in 2010 at the Junior World Championships where she won the bronze medal in the 58 kg  freestyle event.

[26] Malik began her campaign at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games winning her quarterfinal bout against Edwige Ngono Eyia of Cameroon by a 4–0 margin.

After losing to the eventual finalist Valeria Koblova of Russia in the quarterfinal, she qualified for the repechage round where she defeated Pürevdorjiin Orkhon of Mongolia in her first bout.

After putting the shoes on the table at a press conference, she said she would never participate in wrestling because the close aide of Brijbhushan Singh, MP and former WFI chief was polluting the federation.

[44] In May 2023, she and other people were arrested by Delhi police for taking part in protests On November 14 2024, She gave birth to a baby girl named Yoshida Kadian.

[45][46] Malik, along with Vinesh Phogat and other wrestlers, accused Brij Bhushan Singh, a member of the Lok Sabha and the president of the Wrestling Federation of India of sexual and mental harassment.

In 2022, Malik appeared in a short documentary by German broadcaster Deutsche Welle about women in wrestling, featuring young wrestler Payal Sharma.

The documentary features Malik training Sharma on her way to be a professional wrestler, as well as a traditionally held gender roles in India and, in particular, women in sports.