Alegeria’s Imane Khelif, who was excluded from the 2023 world championships for failing an unexplained gender eligibility test, defeated Italian opponent Angela Carini, who withdrew after only 46 seconds of action.
Khelif’s participation in the Paris Olympics has sparked widespread outrage, with the Russian-led International Boxing Association (IBA) chastising the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for permitting the Algerian boxer to compete.
In its statement, the IBA condemned the IOC for “inconsistent application of eligibility criteria,” stating that Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting were judged to “have competitive advantages over other female competitors” based on test results.
Imane Khelif called out by J.K. Rowling and Elon Musk
J.K. Rowling and Elon Musk are among the prominent figures who have condemned the Olympics for permitting Algeria’s Imane Khelif to compete in the women’s boxing division at the Paris 2024 games.
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
“Could any picture sum up our new men’s rights movement better?” Rowling wrote on X, posting a photo of Carini in tears and Khelif comforting her after the match was cut short.
“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.”
Absolutely https://t.co/twccUEOW9e
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 1, 2024
Elon Musk shared a post from swimmer Riley Gaines that claimed “men don’t belong in women’s sports.” The X owner co-signed the message by writing: “Absolutely.”
Italian female boxer Carini fought back tears as she terminated the match, telling the BBC later: “It could have been the match of a lifetime, but I had to preserve my life as well in that moment.”
Carini revealed in an interview following her exit, with tears in her eyes and a bloodstain on her trunks, that she had to give up due to severe discomfort in her nose.
“I felt a severe pain in my nose, and with the maturity of a boxer, I said ‘enough,’ because I didn’t want to, I didn’t want to, I couldn’t finish the match,” the sportsperson from Italy added.
Carini emphasised that she has no authority to assess Khelif’s ability to compete in the Olympics, but she had no problem fighting her, adding that “I just did my job as a boxer.”
Olympic Committee Steadfast
The Olympics has stuck behind its decision to allow Imane Khelif, who was allegedly born female, to compete in the women’s boxing tournament, stating that “everyone competing in the women’s category is following the competition eligibility rules.” They are women according to their passports, which say that they are female.”
Imane Khelif is a well-known boxer who won a silver medal in the IBA World Championships in 2022. The same organisation barred her from competing in last year’s women’s world boxing championship in New Delhi, India, citing reported high testosterone levels.
Khelif was unexpectedly barred from competing for a gold medal against Yang Liu of China just hours before the event. Yang Liu’s bronze medal, however, was revoked since she did not pass the IBA’s eligibility test, which prohibits athletes with XY chromosomes from competing in the women’s category.
Imane Khelif believes the disqualification was a plan to prevent an Algerian boxer from winning. The IOC disqualified Khelif because to high testosterone levels.
Lin Yu-ting and Imane Khelif were able to compete this year because IOC regulations enable athletes with gender diversity and DSDs (differences in sexual development) to compete.
The term DSD refers to a range of unusual diseases involving a person’s oestrogens, genes, and reproductive organs. Some persons with DSD grow up in a feminine environment. Furthermore, they have male-like blood testosterone levels, the ability to use testosterone, and XY chromosomes, all of which are typical of cisgender males.
In contrast, a cisgender female (defined as female at birth) has XX chromosomes and significantly lower testosterone levels. When opposed to cisgender women, cisgender men experience male puberty and typically have an edge in terms of muscle mass, faster twitch muscle, and skeletal structure.
Because of these differences, the average person has a huge edge over an ordinary female boxer in athletic performance matches or competitions in other combat sports.
According to NBC, Khelif and Lin have not revealed their identities as intersex or transgender. Any information with regards to their gender has been stripped from record.
