Melika Balali

Melika Balali (Persian:ملیکا بلالی; born 27 December 1999) is an Iranian-born Scottish judoka and wrestler, who won the British championship gold medals. Besides her wrestling career, she is a poet and painter who talks about women's rights in her work.

In July 2022, she became a British champion in freestyle wrestling and protested the compulsory hijab on the first platform, by raising a sign that read, "stop forcing hijab, I have the right to be a wrestler".

She later transitioned to judo after stating that United World Wrestling did not support her participation in international competitions. She currently competes as a judoka with the International Judo Federation (IJF) Refugee Team and is a recipient of the Olympic Refugee Scholarship.