Taiwanese sports officials threatened the International Boxing Association with legal action on Tuesday after the organisation claimed a Taiwanese fighter in the Paris Olympics women’s competition was “a man”. Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting and Algeria’s Imane Khelif, both of whom are guaranteed a medal after reaching the semi-finals, are at the centre of a major gender row. The IBA disqualified them from its world championships in 2023, but boxing in Paris is run by the International Olympic Committee, which cleared them to compete.

The two organisations have been in open dispute and the IOC took over the sport at the Games because of financial, governance and ethical concerns at the IBA.

The Russian-led IBA attempted to clarify the situation surrounding Lin and Khelif but a chaotic press conference on Monday only muddied the waters further, with IBA officials making a series of contradictory statements.

Its president, Kremlin-linked oligarch Umar Kremlev, claimed that both fighters had “genetic testing that shows that these are men”.

Talking via video call, Kremlev also claimed that testing showed the duo “have men’s level of testosterone”.

In response, Taiwan’s Sports Administration said it had filed “a solemn protest against the IBA”.

It accused the IBA, which has effectively been expelled from the Olympic movement, of “continuing to publish false information to mislead the public and attempt to interfere with the Games”.

“The Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee (Taiwan) has retained a lawyer to send a letter of warning to the IBA, and reserves the right to pursue legal action and file a lawsuit if necessary,” the sports administration added.

IOC president Thomas Bach and high-level officials from Algeria and Taiwan have strenuously defended Khelif and Lin, saying they were born and raised as women, and have passports saying that.

Khelif and Lin also fought at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, but did not win a medal and competed without controversy.

The Algerian fights later Tuesday in the semi-finals of the 66kg category and Lin’s last-four bout is on Wednesday in the 57kg division.

Irish ex-world champion Amy Broadhurst, who beat the Algerian boxer at the heart of an Olympics gender row, has defended her on social media and urged people to “stop the bullying.” Broadhurst defeated Imane Khelif at the boxing World Championships in 2022, a year before the Algerian was disqualified by the International Boxing Federation after failing gender “eligibility criteria”. “Personally I don’t think she (Khelif) has done anything to ‘cheat’,” Broadhurst wrote on X. “I think it’s the way she was born and that’s out of her control.”

She pointed out that Khelif had been beaten nine times in the past by other women which “says it all”.

Khelif, 25, has become embroiled in a heated global gender row after causing her Italian opponent on Thursday to retire hurt during a last-16 bout at the Paris Olympics after just 46 seconds.

“There’s an awful lot of abuse going online. We are in very close contract with the athletes and their entourages,” Mark Adams, spokesman for the International Olympic Committee, told reporters on Friday.

He said Khelif was being “stigmatised and potentially forced out of a competition.”

Harry Potter author and feminist J.K Rowling branded the Algerian a “bullying cheat” in a social media post, while Donald Trump’s Republican running mate JD Vance described the bout as a “grown man pummelling a woman.”

British boxer Nicola Adams, who won gold in the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, also criticised the IOC’s decision to allow Khelif to compete as a woman.

“After years of fighting for women’s boxing to even exist in the Olympics and then all the training they go through to get there, it was hard to watch another fighter be forced to give up on her Olympic dreams,” she wrote on X.

“People not born as biological women, that have been through male puberty, should not be able to compete in women’s sport. Not only is this unfair it’s dangerous!”

Broadhurst urged observers to remember that “nothing has been confirmed that this person is male.”

The International Boxing Association has not specified what tests were done on Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu Ting who was also disqualified in 2023 after failing to meet gender eligibility criteria at the world championships in New Delhi.

The IOC, which is in open conflict with the Russian-led International Boxing Association after expelling it from the Olympic movement, has dismissed the tests as “arbitrary” and “cobbled together.”

It is allowing women to compete at the Paris Olympics boxing providing they are identified as women in their identity documents.

The Paris Olympic Games remain embroiled in a huge controversy ever since the ‘gender row’ erupted in women’s boxing. Algerian boxer Imane Khelif has been categorised as a ‘biological male’, after her opponent Angela Carini, from Italy, decided to abandon the game after just 46 seconds. Several renowned personalities, including Elon Musk, have raised their voices condemning the International Olympic Committee’s decision to allow Khelif to participate in the women’s edition of the sport. Indian sprinter Dutee Chand, who has been at the centre of a similar row in the past, has shared her perspective on the controversy.

“In 2014, I challenged the IOC’s rule that a person with a higher testosterone level should not participate in the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland. It was noted that hormonal levels cannot increase athletic performance. I suffered a lot at that time. I faced a lot of controversy regarding my gender.” Dutee Chand told PTI.

“Yesterday, during the Olympic match, (Angela) Carini gave up and now she is complaining about the Algerian boxer because of high testosterone levels. When you play in the Olympics, you undergo several tests. I don’t think it is right to create controversy about this social media.” she added.

Imane Khelif vs Angela Carini Controversy

Khelif is one of two athletes competing in women’s boxing in Paris despite failing to meet the eligibility criteria for the world championships last year.

Carini refused to shake hands with Khelif after a one-sided fight and the Italian sank to her knees and sobbed in the middle of the ring.

The Olympics allowed a biological man, Imane Khelif, to fight as a woman despite his XY chromosomes. The end result?

“I have never been hit so hard in my life.”

Italian Olympian Angela Carini lasted 46 seconds before quitting due to how painful it was. It’s just shameful that… pic.twitter.com/OWhKggM7qe

— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) August 1, 2024

She said: “My nose started dripping (with blood) from the first hit.”

The bout sparked an immediate reaction from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who said the fight was “not on an equal footing”, while prominent public figures from around the world also weighed in.

The IOC, however, released a statement, rubbishing the ‘misleading’ claims being made against the Algerian boxer.

With AFP Inputs

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif’s Olympic bout against Angela Carini ended in just 46 seconds after the Italian fighter withdrew from the match. She was seen sobbing in the middle of the ring. However, the match result led to massive outrage on social media, a debate about Khelif’s gender and whether or not she should have been allowed to compete in the women’s category. Khelif, a biological woman, has lost on several occasions, including at the Tokyo Olympics

It has also led to many asking what gender testing exactly is. The procedure of identifying whether a person is male or female is known as gender testing. It is often implemented to find out the sex of your unborn kid. In the sports circuit, gender tests are employed to ascertain an athlete’s sex because there have been instances of men competing as women and getting undue advantage from it.

How Does Gender Testing Work

According to Healthline, gender tests are evaluated by specialists in internal medicine, gynaecology, endocrinology, and psychology. The ones opting for gender verification undergo blood tests that determine their chromosomes, sex hormones, and genes. If the results obtained from the blood sample show that the person has the Y chromosome, it indicates that they are a male. If the Y chromosome is absent, it reveals that the person is a female.

A somewhat less invasive test is known as cell-free DNA screening, in which a patient provides a blood sample at a local lab or the doctor’s office, according to Healthline. There are home DNA kits available as well. These tests function similarly to lab tests, with the only exception being that they search for male chromosomes rather than screening the person’s blood.

History Of Gender Testing

According to Topend Sports, the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) launched the very first gender verification testing in sports in 1996. Concerns that men with a physical advantage in strength and muscle mass were cheating by masquerading as women in female-oriented competitions led to the implementation of gender testing. Although the IAAF abandoned it in 1991, women athletes were tested at the Olympic Games at Albertville and Barcelona using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). 

Paris:

Forty-six seconds into her match against Algeria’s Imane Khelif, Italian boxer Angela Carini abandoned the bout. She left the ring in tears, but the result also caused a huge uproar on social media, with many accusing authorities of “allowing a man”, referring to Imane, to compete in the women’s category.

British author and philanthropist JK Rowling called the sporting establishment “misogynist.”

“Could any picture sum up our new men’s rights movement better? The smirk of a male who knows he’s protected by a misogynist sporting establishment enjoying the distress of a woman he’s just punched in the head, and whose life’s ambition he’s just shattered,” read the post shared by JK Rowling on X (formerly Twitter).

Could any picture sum up our new men’s rights movement better? The smirk of a male who’s knows he’s protected by a misogynist sporting establishment enjoying the distress of a woman he’s just punched in the head, and whose life’s ambition he’s just shattered. #Paris2024pic.twitter.com/Q5SbKiksXQ

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) August 1, 2024

Former professional boxer Barry McGuigan also took a dig at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for its alleged insensitivity towards women. “Shocking dangerous and profoundly unfair on Women & Girls. IOC hang you head in shame,” McGuigan wrote.

Shocking dangerous and profoundly unfair on Women & Girls. IOC hang you head in shame ???? https://t.co/j8KxNEXlCm

— Barry McGuigan (@ClonesCyclone) August 1, 2024

Elon Musk shared former American competitive swimmer Riley Gaines’ post that claimed “men don’t belong in women’s sports.” Musk reacted to the post by writing, “Absolutely.”

Absolutely https://t.co/twccUEOW9e

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 1, 2024

However, there were many who defended Imane and said she was born woman and had not undergone any gender-affirming surgery.

“Stop spreading false information to stir up hatred, if you want to write fiction do another book on wizards,” read a comment under Ms Rowling’s tweet.

Stop spreading false information to stir up hatred, if you want to write fiction do another book on wizards

— Matt Zarb-Cousin (@mattzarb) August 1, 2024

Another social media user pointed out that Imane Khelif was a female-born woman fighter, perfectly eligible to compete in women’s sports from a gender point of view. “She’s born a female, please do not belittle her achievement as a woman and call her a man. It’s not right. This mass misinformation needs to stop,” the post read.

Imane Khelif is a female-born woman fighter, she’s perfectly eligible to compete in women’s sports from a gender point of view

She’s born a female, please do not belittle her achievement as a woman and call her a man. It’s not right. This mass misinformation needs to stop. https://t.co/FSQOpxMQJGpic.twitter.com/Ft4kEz4Mxr

— ???????? ???????? (@Fs_FTBL) August 1, 2024

“She is a biological woman,” read another comment

She is a biological woman

— Dittie (@DittiePE) August 1, 2024

This social media user suggested people research before tweeting abuse.

The misinformation that’s spreading about Imane Khelif is so unfair. She is not trans. She is not a man. Can you guys research before you start tweeting abuse please? It’s not hard?! This is what they did to Caster Semenya.

— Lillz (@LillzTIL) August 1, 2024

Imane Khelif is an amateur boxer who clinched a silver medal at the International Boxing Association’s 2022 World Championships. Khelif is one of the two boxers permitted to fight at the Olympics despite being disqualified from the women’s world championships last year for allegedly failing gender eligibility tests.

According to the Associated Press, the International Boxing Association disqualified Imane from last year’s championships right before the Algerian’s gold-medal bout because of elevated levels of testosterone. Khelif will next feature in a quarterfinal bout against Hungary’s Anna Luca Hamori on Saturday.

On Thursday, Italian boxer Angela Carini quit her 66 kg women’s category boxing match against Algeria’s Imane Khalif on Thursday, handing the latter, who was banned from competing in world championships following failures in testosterone and gender eligibility tests, a win in the opening round. Algeria’s Khelif won the fight within just 46 seconds after her opponent quit. A very few punches were thrown before Carini abandoned the match, which is a rare occurrence in Olympic boxing.

The win drew adverse comments from many prominent people like JK Rowling and Elon Musk who took to social media questioning the gender of Khelif.

“Could any picture sum up our new men’s rights movement better? The smirk of a male who knows he’s protected by a misogynist sporting establishment enjoying the distress of a woman he’s just punched in the head, and whose life’s ambition he’s just shattered,” JK Rowling wrote on X.

Could any picture sum up our new men’s rights movement better? The smirk of a male who’s knows he’s protected by a misogynist sporting establishment enjoying the distress of a woman he’s just punched in the head, and whose life’s ambition he’s just shattered. #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/Q5SbKiksXQ

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) August 1, 2024

Elon Musk responded to a post by Sports celebrity host Riley Gaines who said “Men don’t belong in women’s sports #IStandWithAngelaCarini Let’s get it trending”

Musk replied “Absolutely”

Absolutely https://t.co/twccUEOW9e

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 1, 2024

Many such comments on social media forced the IOC to come out and back Imane Khelif. In its reply, the IOC said “All athletes participating in the boxing tournament of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 comply with the competition’s eligibility and entry regulations, as well as all applicable medical regulations set by the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit (PBU). As with previous Olympic boxing competitions, the gender and age of the athletes are based on their passports.”

“These rules also applied during the qualification period, including the boxing tournaments of the 2023 European Games, Asian Games, Pan American Games and Pacific Games, the ad hoc 2023 African qualifying tournament in Dakar (SEN) and two world qualifying tournaments held in Busto Arsizio (ITA) and Bangkok (THA) in 2024, which involved a total of 1,471 different boxers from 172 National Olympic Committees (NOCs), the Boxing Refugee Team and Individual Neutral Athletes, and featured over 2,000 qualification bouts,” the IOC statement read.

The IOC said that the athletes in question had been subjects of an arbitrary decision by the International Boxing Association earlier.

“We have seen in reports misleading information about two female athletes competing at the Olympic Games Paris 2024. The two athletes have been competing in international boxing competitions for many years in the women’s category, including the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, International Boxing Association (IBA) World Championships and IBA-sanctioned tournaments. These two athletes were the victims of a sudden and arbitrary decision by the IBA. Towards the end of the IBA World Championships in 2023, they were suddenly disqualified without any due process,” the IOC said.

Joint Paris 2024 Boxing Unit/IOC Statementhttps://t.co/22yVzxFuLd pic.twitter.com/fZvgsW8OOi

— IOC MEDIA (@iocmedia) August 1, 2024

“According to the IBA minutes available on their website, this decision was initially taken solely by the IBA Secretary General and CEO. The IBA Board only ratified it afterwards and only subsequently requested that a procedure to follow in similar cases in the future be established and reflected in the IBA Regulations. The minutes also say that the IBA should “establish a clear procedure on gender testing. The current aggression against these two athletes is based entirely on this arbitrary decision, which was taken without any proper procedure – especially considering that these athletes had been competing in top-level competition for many years.

Such an approach is contrary to good governance,” the IOC added. The IOC said it was committed to protecting the human rights of all athletes participating in the Olympic Games as per the Olympic Charter, the IOC Code of Ethics and the IOC Strategic Framework on Human Rights. The IOC further said it was saddened by the abuse that the two athletes are currently receiving, the release added.

A new storm has erupted at the Paris Olympics Games 2024 over boxer Imane Khalif’s participation in the quadrennial event as a woman boxer, despite possessing male chromosomes. It all started when Imane took on Italian boxer Angela Carini, who decided to abandon the match after just 46 seconds, in order to ‘preserve her life’. It isn’t the first time that Imane has been at the center of such a controversy, having previously been disqualified from competing in the 2023 championships over gender eligibility issues.

It isn’t the first time that Khalif has competed in the Olympic Games, but a lot has changed since the Tokyo Olympics.

Who Is Imane Khalif?

The 25-year-old Imane Khalif hails from Tiaret, Algeria and is the UNICEF ambassador at present. Khelif’s father didn’t “approve of boxing for girls,” but she wanted to inspire the next generation by winning a gold medal at the biggest of stages.

Khelif made her boxing debut as a professional in 2018 World Championships, finishing 17th. In the 2019 edition of the event, she finished 19th. Khelif then competed in the Tokyo Olympics, held in 2021, where she was knocked out by Ireland’s Kellie Harrington in the quarter-finals. Khelif secured the second spot in the Women’s World Boxing Championships after being defeated by Amy Broadhurst. She went on to wi gold medals in the 2022 African Championships, Mediterranean Games and 2023 Arab Games the following years.

The 2023 World Boxing Championships Controversy:

It was in the 2023 World Boxing Championships that Imane Khelif first triggered the gender controversy.

Held in New Delhi, the 2023 World Boxing Championships saw Khelif being barred from competing in the event by IBA President Umar Kremlev. In his statement, Kremlev said: “Based on DNA tests, we identified a number of athletes who tried to trick their colleagues into posing as women. According to the results of the tests, it was proved that they have XY chromosomes. Such athletes were excluded from competition.”

The Algerian Olympic Committee took a slightly different stance on Khelif’s elimination, saying she was disqualified for “medical reasons.” Algerian media, on the other hand, said that Khelif was disqualified for high testosterone levels, as per Reuters.

Khelif wasn’t happy with the development and said, “There are some countries that did not want Algeria to win a gold medal. This is a conspiracy and a big conspiracy, and we will not be silent about it.”

IOC On Imane Khelif’s Paris Olympics Qualification:

The International Olympic Committee spokesperson Mark Adams said that since Khelif’s passport has ‘female’ written on it, she is competing in the women’s category in the 66kg division.

“Everyone competing in the women’s category is complying with the competition eligibility rules,” he said this week. “They are women in their passports, and it’s stated that this is the case, that they are female.”

Some current and former female boxing champions such as Claressa Shields and Ebanie Bridges have openly criticised the IOC for its ruling. Meanwhile, the COA, which is the Algerian Olympic Committee, has come out in support to Imane Khelif and lambasted the reports against her.

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, who failed a gender eligibility test last year, knocked their Italian opponent out in 46 seconds in the 66 kg women’s boxing category and has drawn the ire of Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni, who said the fight was “not on an equal footing”.

The author of Harry Potter, JK Rowling, reacted to the gender row during the match and said, “Explain why you’re OK with a man beating a woman in public for your entertainment.”

Italian Angela Carini was distraught, she collapsed on her knees and sobbed in the middle of the ring after the defeat and did not shake hands with Khelif, who entered the quarterfinals in the category after the win. 

A boxing round lasts 3 minutes and there are three rounds in each but the Algerian boxer landed two strong punches, knocking Carini out in just 46 seconds. The Italian boxer was unable to stand after her nose was hit and began bleeding.

“I have a big pain in my nose and I said, ‘Stop’. It’s better to avoid keeping going. My nose started dripping (with blood) from the first hit,” said the distressed Carini.

Italy’s Prime Minister said “I think athletes who have male genetic characteristics should not be admitted to women’s competitions. And not because you want to discriminate against someone, but to protect the right of female athletes to be able to compete on equal terms.”

“I was emotional yesterday when she wrote ‘I will fight’ because the dedication, the head, and the character, surely also play a role in these things. But then, it also matters to be able to compete on equal grounds and from my point of view it was not an even contest,” Ms Meloni added.

What Is The Controversy?

The International Olympic Committee allowed two boxers, who failed the gender eligibility tests for the World Boxing Championships, to be made eligible to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Last year, the Algerian boxer was disqualified hours before her gold medal match at the women’s World Championships in Delhi. Algerian media reported that Khelif was disqualified for a high level of testosterone in her system.

Taiwan’s double world champion Lin Yu-ting lost her bronze medal at the same competition after she too failed to meet the criteria.

Umar Kremlev, Amateur Boxing President, told Russian news agency TASS, “DNA tests of two boxers proved they have XY chromosomes and were thus excluded.” XY is the male chromosome and XX is for females.

Reem Alsalem, the UN special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, wrote on X that “Angela Carini rightly followed her instincts and prioritized her physical safety, but she and other female athletes should not have been exposed to this physical and psychological violence based on their sex.”

#Angelacarini rightly followed her instincts and prioritized her physical safety, but she and other female athletes should not have been exposed to this physical and psychological
Violence based on their sex.

— Reem Alsalem UNSR Violence Against Women and Girls (@UNSRVAW) August 1, 2024

The World Championships were organised by the International Boxing Association (IBA) and were not recognised by the International Olympic Committee over financial transparency. 

The IOC said the source of the prize money at the International Boxing Association was unclear and is one of the reasons why they withdrew its recognition of the IBA.

“The IBA was not prepared to transparently explain the sources of its financing or to explain its full financial dependency, at the time, on a single state-owned company, Gazprom,” IOC said. 

The boxing competition at the Paris Olympics is being organised by the Paris Boxing Unit (PBU), an ad-hoc unit of the IOC’s Executive Board. 

IOC spokesman, Mark Adams, said “Everyone competing in the women’s category is complying with competition eligibility rules. They are women in their passports and it’s stated in there that they are female.” 

Nations Back Their Boxers

As expected, the Algerian and Taiwanese boxers have received backing from their nations’ leaders. Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said, “Yu-ting’s performances have inspired many Taiwanese players and united Taiwanese people. Now that she is once again on the international stage, we should stand united and cheer for her.”

Alegria’s Olympic committee called it a “malicious and unethical attack directed against our distinguished athlete, Imane Khelif, by certain foreign media”.

The IBA in a statement clarified that Khelif initially appealed the decision of the IBA’s ruling at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) but later withdrew it during the process, making their decision legally binding. 

However, Lin Yu-ting did not appeal the decision thus rendering it legally binding.

“The IOC’s differing regulations on these matters, in which IBA is not involved, raise serious questions about both competitive fairness and athletes’ safety. For clarification on why the IOC permits athletes with competitive advantages to compete in their events, we urge interested parties to seek answers directly from the IOC,” the IBA said.

‘ Explain Why You’re Ok With A Man Beating A Woman’

The author of Harry Potter, JK Rowling, voiced her opinion on the gender row during the match and said, “Explain why you’re OK with a man beating a woman in public for your entertainment. This isn’t sport. From the bullying cheat in red up to the organisers who allowed this to happen, this is men revelling in their power over women.”

Kirsty Burrows, the Head of the Safe Sport Unit at the IOC, in a press briefing, said, “Paris Olympics 2024 offers the most comprehensive package of mental health and safeguarding initiatives than any other Olympic or sporting event in history.” 

A young female boxer has just had everything she’s worked and trained for snatched away because you allowed a male to get in the ring with her. You’re a disgrace, your ‘safeguarding’ is a joke and #Paris24 will be forever tarnished by the brutal injustice done to Carini. https://t.co/JMKzVljpyr

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) August 1, 2024

Ms Burrows’s comments were unrelated to the boxing match incident but Ms Rowling commented and said, “A young female boxer has just had everything she’s worked and trained for snatched away because you allowed a male to get in the ring with her. You’re a disgrace, your ‘safeguarding’ is a joke and Paris 24 will be forever tarnished by the brutal injustice done to Carini.”