Boxing World Championship: Two disqualified for failing to meet eligibility criteria

Algeria’s Imane Khelif was disqualified hours before her gold medal bout at the women’s world championships in New Delhi after she failed to meet the eligibility criteria, the International Boxing Association (IBA) said on Sunday.

File Photo of Imame Khelif of Algeria, who was disqualified hours before her gold medal bout at the women’s world championships after she failed to meet the eligibility criteria. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

The International Boxing Association (IBA) on Sunday replaced 66kg finalist Imane Khelif with Thailand’s Janjaem Suwannapheng in the title clash after excluding the former in the World women’s boxing championships here.

“A boxer from Algeria, Imane Khelif, was excluded from the IBA World boxing championships due to the failure to meet the IBA eligibility criteria. Due to the exclusion, the boxer from Thailand Janjaem Suwannapheng will be competing in the finals in the 66kg division,” said an IBA statement.

However, the statement did not disclose the reason behind holding the Algerian ineligible. “The IBA upholds its rules and regulations as well as its athletes’ personal and medical privacy, the eligibility criteria breach therefore cannot be shared by the IBA,” it said.

Imane had defeated Janjaem 5-0 in the semifinals.

The Algerian media reported that Imane was excluded due to high levels of testosterone.

As per another statement, on Saturday night, a Chinese Taipei boxer Yu-Ting Lin, a two-time World champion, was excluded on similar grounds and Bulgarian Svetlana Kamenova Staneva was awarded a bronze medal in 57kg as she had lost to Yu-Ting in the quarterfinals.