The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Boxing Association (IBA) have tried to justify their own stands following the unwanted episode of Italian woman boxer Angela Carini withdrawing from her 66kg pre-quarterfinal bout with Imane Khelif in 46 seconds amid accusations of the Algerian being a “biological male.”
The incident triggered international outrage and forced the IOC to issue a statement and defend the inclusion of Imane.
The IBA, which has been terminated by the IOC for several irregularities, has advocated safety of the athletes and stood by its decision to disqualify the Algerian midway through the 2023 World championships in New Delhi.
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The IOC, which conducted boxing competitions in the Tokyo Olympics through its Boxing Unit after suspending IBA and is now doing the same here, said, “Every person has the right to practise sport without discrimination. All athletes participating in the boxing tournament of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 comply with the competition’s eligibility and entry regulations, as well as all applicable medical regulations set by the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit (PBU). As with previous Olympic boxing competitions, the gender and age of the athletes are based on their passport.”
It said these rules were applied during the qualifying events too.
“The PBU used the Tokyo 2020 boxing rules as a baseline to develop its regulations for Paris 2024. This was to minimise the impact on athletes’ preparations and guarantee consistency between Olympic Games. These Tokyo 2020 rules were based on the post-Rio 2016 rules, which were in place before the suspension of the international boxing federation by the IOC in 2019 and the subsequent withdrawal of its recognition in 2023.”
The IOC stood firmly with Imane and Chinese Taipei boxer Lin Yu-ting, saying the IBA decision to disqualify them was arbitrary.
“The two athletes have been competing in international boxing competitions for many years in the women’s category, including Tokyo 2020, IBA World Championships and IBA-sanctioned tournaments.
“The current aggression against these two athletes is based entirely on this arbitrary decision, which was taken without any proper procedure.”
The IBA reaffirmed its position. “IBA remains committed to ensuring competitive fairness in all of our events, we absolutely condemn the inconsistencies in eligibility to compete in the boxing competition held in Paris 2024. To reiterate, both Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting post testing, did not meet the required eligibility criteria to compete within the female category of our respective events.
“The decision made by IBA on March 24, 2023, was subsequently ratified by the IBA Board of Directors on March 25, 2023. The urgent nature of the decision was justified, as the safety of our boxers is our top priority.
“The disqualification was based on two trustworthy tests conducted on both athletes in two independent laboratories (in Istanbul in 2022 and New Delhi in 2023).”
IBA pointed out that during the tests Lin and Imane “did not undergo a testosterone examination but were subject to a separate and recognized test. This test conclusively indicated that both athletes did not meet the required eligibility criteria and were found to have competitive advantages over other female competitors.
IBA said its decision to disqualify both is legally binding as Lin didn’t appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and Imane “withdrew the appeal.”
IBA said it would not support a bout between genders and would give priority to athletes’ safety. It criticised World Boxing, the body trying to rope in national boxing federations to replace the former and get affiliated by the IOC, for allowing Imane in its own recent event.
The development has raised the issue of boxers’ safety amid a political tussle between international sports bodies.
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