Iranian badminton participant Soraya Aghaei Hajiagha gestures throughout her oath ceremony as a newly appointed member of the Worldwide Olympic Committee (IOC) through the 145th IOC session forward of the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, on February 4, 2026.
| Photograph Credit score: AP
The Worldwide Olympic Committee elected its first feminine member from Iran on Wednesday (February 4, 2026), who additionally grew to become the present youngest consultant.
Soraya Aghaei is now the 107th member of the IOC by a 95-2 vote as simply the third-ever Iranian consultant and the primary since 2004.
The IOC invitations potential members to hitch an unique physique that features former Olympic athletes, leaders of worldwide sports activities our bodies, members of royal households, former political leaders, diplomats, industrialists and an Oscar-winning actress.
Aghaei joins the worldwide Olympic physique when it’s led by the primary feminine president in its 132-year historical past, Kirsty Coventry. Girls now comprise 45% of the IOC membership.
Aghaei’s eight-year time period on the desire embody voting to decide on a number for the 2036 Summer time Video games.
The 30-year-old member of the Iranian Olympic physique’s athletes fee grew to become the youngest IOC member on the identical assembly 31-year-old Samira Asghari of Afghanistan was reelected for her second time period.
Aghaei competed in badminton on the Tokyo Summer time Video games held in 2021 as Iran’s first feminine Olympian within the sport.
The earlier Iranian badminton participant on the Olympics, in 2008 at Beijing, was Kaveh Mehrabi, who’s now director of the IOC athletes’ division.
Printed – February 05, 2026 08:06 am IST