Imane Khelif Must Take A Genital Test To Participate In A Tournament

JAKARTA The boxer who won the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Imane Khelive, will not be allowed to fight in the women's category in the World Boxing tournament until he undergoes a mandatory sex test.

World Boxing last week issued a statement that all athletes over the age of 18 who wish to participate in the tournament need to undergo a PCR genetic test (reaction of polymerase chain) to determine their gender at birth and their feasibility to compete.

The boxing body has been given a temporary recognition as an international boxing sports federation by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in February 2025.

"Requiring mandatory testing will be part of a new policy on gender, age, and weight to ensure the safety of all participants and provide equal opportunities for men and women to compete," World Boxing said, quoted by BBC Sport.

This policy is in the final stages of development and has been compiled by a special working group from the World Boxing medical committee and anti-doping.

They have examined medical data and evidence from various sources and consulted widely with sportsmen and other experts around the world.

Khelif, who is currently 26 years old, won the women's welterweight gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics amid the onslaught of controversy over genderworthiness.

The Algerian fighter and Chinese fighter Taipei, Lin Yu-ting, was previously disqualified from the 2023 World Championships by the previous world boxing body, the International Boxing Association (IBA), for allegedly failing a gender eligibility test.

The Khhelif was allowed to compete in Paris by the IOC, which revoked IBA's status as an amateur world sports governing body in June 2023 due to financial governance issues.

Khelif has always competed in the women's division and there is no indication that he identified himself as anything other than a woman. He has prepared to make a competitive comeback at the Eindhoven Box Cup on June 5-10, 2025.

Several reports took IBA statements stating that Khelif has XY chromodynamics to speculate that he may have differences in sexual development (DSD) such as runners of the Semenya cluster.