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Dorsa Yavarivafa

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Dorsa Yavarivafa
Personal information
Born (2003-07-31) 31 July 2003 (age 21)[1]
Tehran, Iran[2]
ResidenceLondon, Great Britain[2]
Height1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
HandednessRight
EventWomen's singles

Dorsa Yavarivafa OLY (Persian: درسا یاوری‌وفا; born 31 July 2003) is an Iranian badminton player who competed for the Refugee Olympic Team at the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Biography

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Introduced to badminton by her father when she was nine-years-old, Yavarivafa left Iran aged 15 along with her mother.[3]

Using fake German passports, they fled the country in November 2018 because her mother wanted to change her religion and Yavarivafa had repeatedly been rejected by the national badminton team without being told why.[4] Her father, who sells car parts, stayed in Iran in case his wife and daughter needed to go back.[4]

Starting in Turkey then moving on to Germany, Belgium and France, Yavarivafa and her mother eventually arrived in England at the end of 2019.[4]

Having been given permission to stay in the country, she initially lived in Birmingham before moving to London.[5] There she was introduced to former badminton player now Athletes’ Department Director at the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Kaveh Mehrabi, who suggested she could become part of the Refugee Olympic Team.[4][5]

In June 2023, she was awarded an IOC Refugee Scholarship.[6][7] The funding helped Yavarivafa compete in several international tournaments and on 2 May 2024, she was among 36 athletes named in the 2024 Refugee Olympic Team.[4][8][9]

At the Paris Olympics, she was eliminated in the group stages after losing both her matches in straight sets to 13th seed Yeo Jia Min from Singapore[10] and Kate Ludik of Mauritius.[11]

Alongside her badminton training at the Sankey Academy in Milton Keynes, Yavarivafa is studying sports and exercise science at Middlesex University.[4][8]

References

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  1. ^ "Dorsa Yavarivafa". olympics.bwfbadminton.com. Retrieved 2024-05-11.
  2. ^ a b "Yavarivafa Dorsa". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  3. ^ "Athlete profile Dorsa Yavarivafa". olympics.com. Retrieved 2024-05-11.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "How refugee Dorsa Yavarivafa fled Iran for her love of badminton". Reuters. Retrieved 2024-06-13.
  5. ^ a b "DORSA YAVARIVAFA: A REFUGEE'S JOURNEY OF OLYMPIC DREAMS". olympics.bwfbadminton.com. Retrieved 2024-05-11.
  6. ^ "Seven athletes receive new Refugee Athlete Scholarships". olympics.com. Retrieved 2024-05-11.
  7. ^ "SCHOLARSHIP BOOST FOR REFUGEE PLAYER YAVARIVAFA". bwfbadminton.com. Retrieved 2024-06-13.
  8. ^ a b "Yavarivafa selected for Paris 2024 Olympic Games". Badminton England. 2 May 2024. Retrieved 2024-05-11.
  9. ^ "Athletes set for Paris: Olympic qualifiers announced". Badminton Europe. Retrieved 2024-06-13.
  10. ^ "Badminton: Refugee athlete Dorsa Yavarivafa falls to Singapore's Yeo Jia Min in opening Paris 2024 group match". olympics.com. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  11. ^ "IOC Refugee Olympic Team athletes Muna Dahouk and Dorsa Yavarivafa proud of their efforts at Paris 2024 Olympics". olympics.com. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
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