Hadi Saei
Saei in 2024
Member of City Council of Tehran
In office 29 April 2007 – 22 August 2017
Personal details
Born	Hadi Saei Bonehkohal (1976-06-10) June 10, 1976 (age 50) Bostan Abad, Iran
Political party	Independent
Other political affiliations	Reformists Coalition (2006)
Alma mater	Islamic Azad University
Sports career
Country	Iran
Sport	Taekwondo
Medal record Olympic Games 2004 Athens 68 kg 2008 Beijing 80 kg 2000 Sydney 68 kg World Championships 1999 Edmonton 72 kg 2005 Madrid 72 kg 2003 Garmisch-Partenkirchen 72 kg 2007 Beijing 72 kg Asian Games 2002 Busan 72 kg 2006 Doha 72 kg Asian Championships 2006 Bangkok 72 kg 2002 Amman 72 kg West Asian Games 1997 Tehran 70 kg

Hadi Saei (Persian: هادی ساعی بنه‌کهل; born June 10, 1976) is a former Iranian taekwondo athlete and a Tehran city councilor. He is the most successful Iranian athlete in Olympic history and one of the top champions in taekwondo, with 9 major titles.^[1] These include three Olympic medals (gold in 2004 and 2008, bronze in 2000), two world championship titles, four world cup titles, and one world Olympic qualification tournament win.

He is one of the top three medalists in the history of Olympic taekwondo.^[2] Saei was elected to Tehran's City Council in 2006 and re-elected in 2013 but lost his seat in 2017.

Hadi Saei started practicing Taekwondo at the age of six. He competed in the Lightweight category (67–72 kg) and became the 1999 World Champion and the 2003 World Championship silver medalist. After the 2003 earthquake in Bam, Iran, Saei auctioned his medals to help the victims.

He won the Taekwondo World Championship twice and is currently a senior student at Iran Physical Education University. Saei officially retired from Taekwondo on November 8, 2008.^[3]

Hadi Saei faced great personal loss, losing his father and brother in the same year, followed by the death of his younger brother from cancer the next year.

He is originally from Bostanabad city in East Azerbaijan Province and is of Iranian Azerbaijani heritage.^[4]

1. ↑ "Hadi Saei: Taekwondo Legend and Olympic Champion". 2024-10-04. Archived from the original on 2025-01-15. Retrieved 2025-01-15.
2. ↑ "ISNA - 11-08-2008 - 87/8/18 - سرویس: / قهرمانی - همگانی / شماره خبر: 1231191". 2011-07-22. Archived from the original on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2025-01-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
3. ↑ "Hadi Saei Bio, Stats, and Results | Olympics at Sports-Reference.com". 2016-12-03. Archived from the original on 2011-01-07. Retrieved 2025-01-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
4. ↑ "هادی ساعی مدال خود را تقدیم به مردم آذربایجان کرد". 2008-08-27. Archived from the original on 2008-08-27. Retrieved 2025-01-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)

• Hadi Saei at TaekwondoData.com
• Hadi Saei: Olympic Champion and Taekwondo Icon Archived 2025-01-15 at the Wayback Machine