Just a few days after the introduction of mandatory sexing through World Boxing, Olympic champion IMane Khelif does not take part in a tournament in the Netherlands. This was confirmed by Dirk Renders, spokesman for the Eindhoven Box Cup, to the AFP news agency on Thursday. “The decision about your exclusion is at World Boxing,” said Renders.
At the end of May, the young world association, recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) since March, introduced the gender tests to check the suitability of male and female athletes for his competitions. At the Olympic Games, the participation of the Algerian boxer Khelif caused heated discussions. In the run -up to the event in the Netherlands, World Boxing had now told the Algerian Association that Khelif had to undergo the test if she wanted to take part in the tournament in Eindhoven (until June 10).
The proposed PCR test is a laboratory process for detection specific genetic material, in this case of the Sry gene. This indicates the presence of the Y chromosome, which serves as an indicator of the biological gender. The national associations are responsible for the tests and must confirm the gender of their athletes (from 18 years) when registering for World Boxing competitions by submitting a certificate of the chromosomal gender determined by a PCR test.
Khelif and Lin Yuting from Taiwan had been excluded by the IBA at the 2023 World Cup because they supposedly failed a testosterone test. In Paris, however, they were allowed to start because the gender in the pass was decisive for the IOC alone. Like Lin, Khelif won the gold medal in her weight class – accompanied by attacks and a disinformation campaign of conservative circles, which she as a “man who fights women”.