Iranian badminton player Soraya Aghaei Hajiagha gestures during her swearing-in ceremony as a new member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) during the 145th IOC session ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, on February 4, 2026. | Photo credit: AP
The International Olympic Committee elected its first female member from Iran on Wednesday (February 4, 2026), who also became its youngest current representative.
Soraya Aghaei is now the 107th member of the IOC with a vote of 95-2, just the third Iranian representative ever and the first since 2004.
The IOC is inviting prospective members to join an exclusive body that includes former Olympic athletes, heads of international sporting bodies, members of royal families, former political leaders, diplomats, industrialists and an Oscar-winning actress.
Aghaei joins the global Olympic body as it is led by the first female president in its 132-year history, Kirsty Coventry. Women now represent 45% of IOC members.
Aghaei’s eight-year term will include voting to choose a host for the 2036 Summer Games.
The 31-year-old member of the athletes’ commission of the Iranian Olympic body became the youngest member of the IOC in the same meeting. 31-year-old Samira Asghari of Afghanistan has been re-elected to her second term.
Aghaei competed in badminton at the Tokyo Summer Games held in 2021 as the first Iranian Olympian in the sport.
The previous Iranian badminton player at the Olympics, in 2008 in Beijing, was Kaveh Mehrabi, who is now director of the IOC’s athletes department.
Published – February 5, 2026 08:06 IST
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