Every Olympics has its controversies, but in Paris, one topic is dominating the conversations: women’s boxing.
It concerns the accusation that two female boxing competitors are not women, which some fighters argue makes the competition unfair and even dangerous.
The story began when Italian boxer Angela Carini withdrew from her preliminary fight in the round of 16 against Algerian Imane Khelif on August 1, after just 46 seconds in the ring.
Carini argued that she could not compete on equal terms with a rival who was not of the female sex.
Khelif was cleared to compete in women’s boxing at the Paris Olympics, having been disqualified from last year’s Women’s World Boxing Championship in New Delhi for not meeting gender eligibility criteria.
The International Boxing Association (IBA), which oversees the world championships, stated that DNA tests “proved they had XY chromosomes and were therefore excluded.” These tests have not been made public.
The athlete is not transgender. She was born a woman and had previously competed in women’s boxing tournaments.
The Olympic committee stated that the IBA’s decision was made without “proper procedure.”
Khelif was not the only one to have her gender questioned. Lin Yu-ting from Taiwan, another athlete who missed the world championship for the same reason, also faced similar scrutiny in Paris.
They have remained silent on the controversy, but after Khelif’s victory in the quarter-finals, she broke down in tears and declared: “I am a woman.”
In a press conference on Saturday morning (3), IOC President Thomas Bach spoke out against the “hate speech” directed at Lin and Khelif on social media.
“We have two boxers who were born women, who were raised as women, who have a passport as women, and who have competed for many years as women,” he said. “This is the clear definition of a woman. There has never been any doubt about them being women.”
The IOC stated in a statement addressing the controversy: “As in previous Olympic boxing competitions, the gender and age of athletes are based on their passports.”
How has the public in Paris reacted?
Khelif found support from the Olympic crowd, with hundreds of Franco-Algerians attending her quarter-final fight to show support for the fighter.
Source: Yahoo News