IOC elects first female member from Iran to join exclusive global Olympic body

MILAN (AP) — The IOC elected its first female member from Iran on Wednesday, who became its current youngest representative and opened the Olympic body to scrutiny over the country's record on women in sports.

Soraya Aghaei, who competed for Iran in badminton at the Tokyo Olympics, is now the 107th member of the International Olympic Committee by a 95-2 vote. She is just the third-ever Iranian representative at the IOC and the first since 2004.

The IOC invites prospective members to join an exclusive body that includes former Olympic athletes, leaders of international sports bodies, members of royal families, former political leaders, diplomats, industrialists and an Oscar-winning actress.

Aghaei joins the global Olympic body when it is led by the first female president in its 132-year history, Kirsty Coventry. Women now comprise 45% of the membership, the IOC said.

Coventry was later asked at a news conference how Aghaei's entry to the IOC could link to changing Iran's refusal to send female athletes to the Olympics in sports such as swimming, because of religious dress codes.

“I think she is going to be an incredible asset to the IOC,” Coventry said, without addressing the question of discrimination. She described Aghaei as "an incredible young lady who was a very good athlete and has been a really good coach.”

In Olympic history, Iran won three medals in women's events, all in taekwondo. The first of them, Kimia Alizadeh, took bronze at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Games then left the country she criticized for its mandate to wear the hijab headscarf. Alizadeh took bronze in Paris in 2024 competing for Bulgaria after losing to her Iranian former teammate Nahid Kiyani Chandeh.

Aghaei's eight-year term on the IOC will include voting to choose a host for the 2036 Summer Games.

The 30-year-old member of the Iranian Olympic body’s athletes commission became the youngest IOC member at the same meeting 31-year-old Samira Asghari of Afghanistan was reelected for her second term.

When Aghaei competed at the Tokyo Summer Games held in 2021 she was Iran’s first female Olympian in the sport.

The previous Iranian badminton player at the Olympics, in 2008 at Beijing, was Kaveh Mehrabi who is now director of the IOC athletes’ department.

Iran's first IOC member for more than 20 years from 1955 was Gholam Reza Pahlavi, the brother of the then-Shah who was deposed during the Islamic Revolution in 1979.

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Iranian badminton player Soraya Aghaei Hajiagha, center left, poses with International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Kirsty Coventry during her oath ceremony as a newly appointed member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) during the 145th IOC session ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. (Daniel Munoz/Pool Photo via AP)

Iranian badminton player Soraya Aghaei Hajiagha speaks during her oath ceremony as a newly appointed member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) during the 145th IOC session ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026 (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic injured his left hamstring on Thursday night and coach JJ Redick said the league's scoring leader will have an MRI on Friday.

Redick said Doncic had an issue with the hamstring in the first half of the 139-97 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder and was tended to at the break.

“We checked him out, he got work done, he was cleared," Redick said.

Doncic returned to action briefly. On his final play of the game, he spun before trying to go up for a shot against Oklahoma City's Jalen Williams. There was no contact before Doncic stopped, then lay down on the floor while wincing in pain. He left the game for good with 7:39 remaining in the third quarter.

“Those things happen,” Redick said.

Williams, an All-Star in 2025, has missed 27 games this season because of a right hamstring strain. He felt badly for Doncic.

“It’s very, like, spooky in a way to see it happen to him, and I’m the one guarding him," Williams said.

Williams could have stolen the ball after Doncic let it go, but he chose not to take advantage of the situation.

“I tried to let it go out of bounds and give them time to figure it out,” Williams said. “That injury sucks. So I wish him a speedy recovery. Hope it's not anything serious.”

Doncic had scored at least 40 points in five of his previous seven games. He was held to 12 on 3-for-10 shooting against Oklahoma City's relentless defense.

The Lakers trailed 90-58 when Doncic was hurt, so the injury made a bad night worse.

“I mean, it’s something you never want to see as a teammate,” Lakers forward Jake LaRavia said. “So especially in a game like this, it was tough to see him go down. All the prayers for him ... but yeah, you never want to see that.”

Lakers guard Austin Reaves hurt his back during the game, but continued to play. He sat out the fourth quarter with the game out of reach.

“He was in a weird position, stretching for a basketball, loose ball," Redick said. "And he just felt something intercostal, somewhere in his back, in between the ribs. He was able to play through it ... we’ll see how he feels tomorrow.”

The Lakers will host a rematch with the Thunder on April 7.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Los Angeles Lakers forward/guard Luka Dončić (77) drives against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace (22) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, April. 2, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Gerald Leong)