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Sevdaliza is an Iranian-Dutch singer whose debut album ISON earned her the 3voor12 Award under the Best Album of the Year category. Although she is not very popular in the Netherlands, Sevdaliza performs all over the world. A former professional basketball player, Sevdaliza played for the Dutch national team before embarking on a career as a singer.
Sarasadat Khademalsharieh is an Iranian chess player who achieved the honorific titles of Woman Grandmaster and International Master in 2013 and 2015 respectively. She has represented her country in important competitions like the Women's Chess Olympiads and the Women's World Chess Championship.
A Woman Grandmaster and an International Grandmaster, Iranian chess player Dorsa Derakhshani initially represented Iran internationally. She now plays for the US and is a student of St. Louis University. Initially home-schooled, she had also excelled in music and dance, especially ballet, in her childhood, before moving on to chess.
Taekwondo player Kimia Alizadeh, the daughter of a table-cloth maker, became a star in her country, Iran, when she won a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics. However, she fled Iran due to oppression in 2020 and settled in Germany. She has since been competing for Germany internationally.
Fereshteh Karimi is an Iranian professional futsal player who has represented the Iran women's national futsal team. In 2015, Fereshteh Karimi won her first AFC Women's Futsal Championship title and was also selected as the MVP of the tournament.
Former world number 15, Iranian-origin French tennis star Aravane Rezai was initially a ball girl. She made headlines when her difficult relationship with her father led to him being banned from following her in all WTA tournaments. She has won 2 Women's Islamic Games, representing Iran, though she later represented France.
Zahra Nemati is an Iranian Olympic and Paralympic archer best known for winning gold medals for Iran in major competitions like Paralympic Games and World Para-archery Championships. Nemati competed in taekwondo prior to a car accident that left her paralyzed. Zahra Nemati was the flag bearer for her country at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Leila Rajabi is a shot putter who represented Belarus from 2001 to 2007. Since 2007, she has been representing Iran. Rajabi is best known for winning the silver medal at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon. Leila Rajabi is the current Iranian national record holder in shot put.
Niloufar Ardalan is an Iranian former footballer and futsal player. She has the distinction of captaining both Iranian women's national futsal team as well as the national football team. Niloufar Ardalan is credited with helping her team win the Iranian Women's Futsal League on five occasions. Since her retirement in 2017, Ardalan has been focusing on her coaching career.
Iranian table tennis player Neda Shahsavari scripted history when at the 2012 London Olympics, she became the first Iranian woman to represent her country in table tennis at the Olympics. She is often the only player playing in a hijab and once expressed how she doesn’t like to be noticed for her attire.
Iranian footballer Sara Ghomi is best known as a forward for Heyat Football Alborz. With her 238 goals, she is one of the most successful female footballers from her country. A sports lover, she played volleyball and futsal before women’s football was considered a proper sport in Iran.
