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Watch as the International Boxing Association (IBA) holds a press conference in Paris on Monday 5 August as the gender debate continues at the Olympic Games boxing tournament.
Algerian boxer Imane Khelif and Taiwan’s double world champion Lin Yu-ting are at the centre of the controversy, after both were cleared to compete in Paris despite having been disqualified during the 2023 World Championships after the IBA said they had failed a gender eligibility test.
Over the weekend, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said the gender tests conducted by the IBA were illegitimate and lacked credibility.
The testing process at that 2023 event, which only came towards the end of the competition after the boxers had already fought several bouts, was completely arbitrary, the IOC said.
The IOC last year stripped the IBA of its status as boxing’s governing body over governance and finance issues, taking charge of the Paris Games boxing competition and applying eligibility rules from the 2016 and the 2021 Olympics.
Khelif’s dominance in Thursday’s round-of-16 welterweight fight against Angela Carini, who withdrew after 46 seconds following a barrage of punches from the Algerian, triggered a furore that swept social media.
Both Khelif and Lin have now reached the semi-finals in their weight categories in Paris.
