Duo from Algeria and Chinese Taipei to box this week
Algerian Imane Khelif accused critics of ‘big conspiracy’
The International Olympic Committee has confirmed that two boxers who were disqualified from the world championships last year for failing gender eligibility tests will be allowed to fight in Paris.
Imane Khelif of Algeria and Lin Yu‑ting of Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) both start their Olympic campaigns this week: Khelif will meet the Italian Angela Carini in the 66kg category, and Lin is expected to face an unnamed opponent in the 57kg category on Friday.
The IOC’s decision will be controversial, with the former world champion Barry McGuigan expressing his unease. In a post on X, he wrote: “It’s shocking that they were actually allowed to get this far, what is going on?”
The situation has arisen because the world championships last year was run under the auspices of the International Boxing Association, whose president, Umar Kremlev, told the Russian news agency, Tass, that DNA tests had “proved they had XY chromosomes and were thus excluded from the sports events”.
The IBA told the Guardian it had made the decision “following a comprehensive review and was intended to uphold the fairness and integrity of the competition”.
Since then, however, the IBA has been banned from running the Olympic boxing tournament in Paris because of long-running questions surrounding governance issues and a series of judging scandals. That means the boxing in Paris is now being run under the auspices of the IOC’s Paris 2024 Boxing Unit, which has more relaxed rules than the IBA.
In a statement the IOC said: “The PBU used the Tokyo 2020 boxing rules (enforced at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and the related qualifying tournaments) as a baseline to develop its regulations. Those rules descended from the Rio 2016 rules. The PBU endeavoured to restrict amendments to minimise the impact on athletes’ preparation and guaranteeing consistency between Olympic Games.”
However the IOC’s own MyInfo website acknowledges that both boxers failed gender eligibility tests last year.
In its internal system, which is provided to journalists in Paris, the IOC states that Khelif was “disqualified just hours before her gold medal showdown against Yang Liu at the 2023 world championships in New Delhi, India, after her elevated levels of testosterone failed to meet the eligibility criteria”. The IOC also acknowledges that Lin was “stripped of her bronze medal after failing to meet eligibility requirements based on the results of a biochemical test.
Lin does not appear to have spoken about the situation. However the Agence France-Presse reported that Khelif claimed to be the victim of a “big conspiracy” after being disqualified just before the final at last year’s world championships.
“People have conspired against Algeria so that its flag doesn’t get raised and it doesn’t win the gold medal,” the 25-year-old said.
Rules regarding who should compete in the female category have been hotly contested in recent years. But there has been less debate about combat sports, where the risk of serious injury and even death is far higher. Scientific research has also found that the average punching power is 162% greater in those who have gone through male puberty compared to females.
Both countries’ Olympic committees have been approached for comment.
News
William Nylander’s new contract is the motivation for him to break out even further for the 2024-25 season
Photo credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports William Nylander enjoyed a very productive 2023-24 season, but confirms that he’s motivated for an even bigger 2024-25 season with the Maple Leafs. Early in January, the Leafs and Nylander agreed on an 8-year extension that…
“Brad Treliving Reveals: Which Young Maple Leafs Stars Are Ready to Break Out?”
Photo credit: Dan Hamilton – USA Today Sports During Brad Treliving’s appearance on Spittin’ Chiclets, the Leafs GM projected which young stars on the Maple Leafs are most likely to have a breakout season. With the regular season just 8…
Emma Watson stuns fans with ‘levitating’ dress
Emma Watson fans have been left confused by her latest fashion statement. The actor, 33, who is best known for starring as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter film adaptations, shared a photo to Instagram on Monday (19 June), in which she posed…
JK Rowling’s King Lear-like dispute with her ‘children’ is tragic to behold
Sean O’Grady wonders what we might learn from the dramatic rift between the Harry Potter author and the child stars of her movie franchise who turned against her because of her trans views JK Rowling photographed with Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson…
JK Rowling has faced ridicule for her gender-critical views, but that hasn’t hindered her success.
The Edinburgh-based Harry Potter author wrote The Ink Black Heart under her Robert Galbraith pseudonym and social media users reckon there is an irony in her still being successful at the same time a business that mocked her goes into…
JK Rowling calls out ‘trans activist outrage’ as she proclaims ‘women’s rights are human rights’
The Harry Potter author hit out at her critics who have been angered by her views that biological men should not share prisons with vulnerable female inmates JK Rowling has accused her critics of being unrighteous as she hit out…
End of content
No more pages to load