Controversy erupted in Olympic boxing when Algeria’s Imane Khelif won in the women’s welterweight event amid an eligibility row, with a repeat potentially on the cards on Friday.
Khelif is one of two boxers at the Games who were disqualified from the Women’s Boxing World Championships last year.
The International Boxing Association (IBA) – who have been stripped of recognition amid a series of governance issues – disqualified Khelif and Taiwan‘s Lin Yu-ting from the event.
Lin had won a bronze medal in the women’s featherweight competition at the World Championships.
The 28-year-old had won three fights before losing in the semi-finals to Kazakhstan’s Karina Ibragimova.
Algeria’s Imane Khelif, left, has been cleared to compete in women’s boxing at the Paris 2024 Olympics and won in the welterweight bout when Angela Carini, right, abandoned
Lin Yu-ting (pictured), who like Khelif was disqualified from the Women’s World Championships last year, will take to the ring on Friday in the featherweight division
Lin will enter the boxing competition as the Asian Games champion and top seeded fighter
The IBA later stripped Lin of the medal, with the organisation stating the boxer had failed to meet eligibility requirements.
In a statement on Wednesday, the IBA said Lin and Khelif had ‘failed to meet the eligibility criteria for participating in the women’s competition’.
‘This decision, made after a meticulous review, was extremely important and necessary to uphold the level of fairness and utmost integrity of the competition,’ an IBA statement read.
‘The athletes did not undergo a testosterone examination but were subject to a separate and recognised test, whereby the specifics remain confidential.
‘This test conclusively indicated that both athletes did not meet the required necessary eligibility criteria and were found to have competitive advantages over other female competitors.’
The IBA said the tests were conducted at their World Championships in 2022 and 2023, with Lin not taking up the option to appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
No details have been released by the IBA regarding the tests conducted, stating that the ‘specifics remain confidential.’
Despite Lin’s disqualification, the boxer competed at the Asian Games in Hangzhou later in 2023.
Lin triumphed at the Asian Games last year to secure a place at a second Olympic Games
The International Boxing Association, led by president Umar Kremlev, has disqualified both Lin and Khelif from the World Championships claiming they failed eligibility tests
Lin went on to secure gold at the continental event, beating Ibragimova in final in the Chinese city to qualify for a second Olympic Games.
The fighter had competed at Tokyo 2020 by lost to the Philippines eventual silver medallist Nesthy Petecio – who Lin also beat on route to the Asian Games title.
Lin will represent Taiwan – known as Chinese Taipei at the Olympic Games – in the 57 kilogram featherweight event.
The two-time world and Asian Championships gold medallist, who is reported to have 40 wins and 14 losses in their amateur career, has been classed as the top seed in the event.
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Lin’s entry to the ring comes after the controversy surrounding Khelif’s participation and victory on Thursday morning.
The Algerian boxer beat Angela Carini in the first round of their welterweight fight, with the Italian abandoning the contest after 46 seconds having been punched twice.
‘I went into the ring to fight,’ Carini said, as per the Italian news agency ANSA. ‘I didn’t give up, but a punch hurt too much and so I said enough. I’m leaving with my head held high.’
The Italian boxer had claimed before the fight that she could ‘only adapt to the rules of the Olympics‘.
‘I am nobody to judge and I have nothing against my opponent. I had a task and I carried it out even if she didn’t make it,’ Carini added to the Gazzetta Dello Sport.
‘Everything that happened before the match had absolutely no influence.’
According to feminist website Reduxx, both Lin and Khelif both are impacted by a Difference of Sexual Development (DSD), a series of medical conditions identified at birth where genitalia is atypical in relation to chromosomes.
Ahead of Khelif’s first bout at Paris 2024, the COA slammed ‘baseless attacks’ against their boxer.
Carini was hit twice in the opening round before abandoning the contest after 46 seconds
The Italian boxer dropped to her knees after abandoning and was seen crying in the ring
The Algerian team have hit back at ‘baseless attacks’ against Khelif ahead of the competition
‘COA strongly condemns the unethical targeting and maligning of our esteemed athlete, Imane Khelif, with baseless propaganda from certain foreign media outlets.
‘Such attacks on her personality and dignity are deeply unfair, especially as she prepares for the pinnacle of her career at the Olympics. The COA has taken all necessary measures to protect our champion.’
IOC spokesperson Mark Adams had warned against a ‘witch hunt’ against the two boxers cleared to compete in Paris and criticised misreporting, stressing the cases are not a transgender issue.
Adams had urged the rhetoric to be ‘dialled down’, adding that the ‘entirely comfortable with the rules’ which had previously been used at the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
