IMANE KHELIF will SKIP the Eindhoven Box Cup just a week after World Boxing announced mandatory sex testing for all athletes.
The Algerian, along with Taiwan’s Lin Yu-Ting, was the focal point of an explosive gender row that dominated the 2024 Olympics in Paris last summer.
AFPOlympic champion Imane Khelif will skip the Eindhoven Box Cup[/caption]
APKhelif will miss the tournament after failing to register in time[/caption]
REUTERSKhelif’s absence comes just days after World Boxing announced mandatory sex testing for all athletes under their jurisdiction[/caption]
Khelif fought at the Games 18 months after being banned from competing at the Women’s World Championships for allegedly failing a gender eligibility test.
The alleged test administered by the International Boxing Association is said to have determined that both Khelif and Yu-Ting have male XY chromosomes.
The pair, however, were permitted to compete by the IOC because of their female passport statuses, to the fury of many.
Less than a year after the scandal, World Boxing announced all participants in competitions under their jurisdiction will have to undergo sex testing.
And Khelif won’t be in action at their first event since the announcement in Eindhoven having missed the deadline to register.
Eindhoven Cup media director Dirk Renders said: “The decision of Imane’s exclusion is not ours. We regret it.”
Mayor of Eindhoven Joren Dijsselbloem has blasted World Boxing’s decision to implement mandatory sex testing.
In a letter to the Dutch Boxing Federation and the International Boxing Federation, he said: “As far as we are concerned, all athletes are welcome in Eindhoven.
“Excluding athletes based on controversial ‘gender tests’ certainly does not fit in with that.
Imane Khelif faced a barrage of abuse after forcing Angela Carini to quit just 46 seconds into their opening match at the Paris GamesREX
Khelif is facing fresh claims she’s a ‘biological male’ following the leaking of the alleged test she failed before the 2023 Women’s World Championships
“We are expressing our disapproval of this decision today and are calling on the organization to admit Imane Khelif after all.”
Khelif won Algeria’s first-ever female gold medal in boxing at the Paris Games.
She was subjected to a torrent of abuse on social media after forcing Italy’s Angele Carina to quit just 46 seconds into their opening bout.
Her stoppage of Carini sparked claims the gender eligibility test she failed before the 2023 World Championships deemed her to be a “biological male”.
That alleged test, which was conducted in New Delhi, was recently published by 3 Wire Sports.
The document claimed that chromosome analysis revealed a “male karyotype”.
A karotype is the set of chromosomes possessed by an individual.
Khelif has yet to speak on the alleged report, but has maintained that she is a biological female from the outset.
And she has taken legal action against a number of prominent figures for alleged “aggravated cyber-harassment”, including Elon Musk and JK Rowling.
The last ten months have been a rollercoaster of emotions for Khelif, who admits he ordeal has taken its toll.
These politicians who are oppressing me, they don’t have the right to say that I’m a transgender.”
Imane Khelif
She told El Birard: “Immediately after, there was a big uproar from big politicians around the world, athletes around the world.
“And even artists and stars, Elon Musk, Trump.. this thing….. that affected me.
“I am not lying to you, it affected me. It affected me a lot, hurt me a lot.
“I can’t describe to you the amount of fear I had. The scenario was very scary.
“Thank god, all the people of Algeria and the Arab world knew Imane Khelif with her femininity, her courage, her will.
“Honestly, I don’t like to get into politics in sports, but they got into politics in sports.
“Sports and politics are two separate things.
“These politicians who are oppressing me, they don’t have the right to say that I’m a transgender.”
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