International Olympic Committee approves 8 candidates in committee as IOC Members

MUMBAI: During its proceedings on Tuesday, The 141st IOC Session meeting in Mumbai elected eight new IOC Members, four women and four men for election as IOC Members by the upcoming Session.

On the third and last day of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) session in Mumbai, the IOC elected eight new Members in the IOC which includes four women and four men.

"The 141st IOC Session meeting in Mumbai, India, today elected eight new IOC Members, four women and four men, bringing the proportion of women on the IOC membership to 41.1 per cent. This is in keeping with the IOC's ambition to lead by example and increase female representation in governance structures," the IOC said in a statement.

Oscar-winning Hollywood actress Michelle Yeoh (Bond Girl) was also elected to the IOC as a Member after being voted in as a member at a ceremony in Mumbai.She was one of eight new members proposed to the Olympic Committee during its meeting in Mumbai.

Following a vote, the Session elected Yael Arad of Israel to join the membership. Arad, a retired judoka, was the first-ever Olympic medallist from Israel, winning a silver medal at the Olympic Games in Barcelona 1992. She was appointed President of the National Olympic Committee of Israel in November 2021, making her the first woman to hold this position.

Balazs Furjes, a sports administrator from Hungary, was also elected to the IOC membership.

The Session also elected Olympian from Peru, Cecilia Roxana Tait Villacorta to the membership.

Two candidates, one woman and one man, were also elected based on their functions within an International Federation (IF) Petra Sorling from Sweden, President of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), and Jae-youl Kim from the Republic of Korea, President of the International Skating Union (ISU). Meanwhile, Mehrez Boussayene of Tunisia was selected to the membership in his capacity as President of the Comite National Olympique Tunisien.

These elections bring the total number of IOC Members to 107.

Notably earlier on Monday IOC announced that Cricket will be a part of the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028 and will make its return after 128 years to the multi-sport extravaganza.

The IOC session in Mumbai was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday. The session serves as a key meeting of the members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Important decisions regarding the future of the Olympic games are made at the IOC Sessions.