Women’s boxing is facing controversy at the Paris Olympics due to the participation of two athletes, Imane Khelif of Algeria and Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan, who have previously failed gender eligibility tests. Both athletes, who have long competed as ‘women’, were disqualified from the 2023 Women’s World Championships by the International Boxing Association (IBA) for failing to meet “eligibility rules.”
The IBA, no longer governing Olympic boxing, claimed that Khelif and Lin had “XY chromosomes,” which are typically associated with males, although medical conditions like polycystic ovary syndrome can cause similar results. The IBA did not conduct testosterone tests but used a confidential test to determine eligibility.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC), now in charge of Olympic boxing, has defended Khelif and Lin’s right to compete, questioning the validity and fairness of the disqualification process. “The current aggression against these athletes is based on an arbitrary decision,” said an IOC spokesperson.
In its statement, the IOC confirmed that all athletes participating in the boxing tournament “comply with the competition’s eligibility and entry regulations, as well as all applicable medical regulations.” It said it used the Tokyo boxing rules as the baseline for this year’s regulations.
Khelif, who won against Italy’s Angela Carini, and Lin, who secured a unanimous decision against Uzbekistan’s Sitora Turdibekova, are both advancing to the quarterfinals. Angela Carini of Italy, quit 46 seconds into the match. “It’s terrible,” she said right after the match. “It isn’t fair, it isn’t fair, it isn’t fair.”
Khelif, a 25-year-old from Algeria, won the African and Mediterranean Championships in 2022 and reached the final of the IBA Women’s World Championships that same year, while Lin, a 28-year-old from Taiwan, is a two-time world champion winning gold at bantamweight in 2018 and gold in featherweight in 2022.
