Why was Imane Khelif permitted to compete against Angela Carini? What is the gender debate?

On August 1, Angela Carini retired from her match against Algerian Iman Khelif in just 46 seconds.

This incident became a highlight. The reason why Angela Carini withdrew from the match at 46 seconds was that she had never been hit so hard.

That created problems for Khalif, who was allowed to compete in the Paris Olympics despite failing a gender eligibility test, which was conducted at last year’s International Boxing Association World Championships in New Delhi.

Now, when that player cannot pass the gender eligibility test, why is that player allowed to continue playing?

Let’s answer the obvious questions that arise.

First question: Why was Iman Khalif allowed to compete in the Olympics after failing the gender eligibility test?

The International Boxing Association has always clearly defined who cannot participate in women’s competitions.

In a statement released on Thursday, AIBA said two boxers were ineligible to compete in the women’s tournament based on tests conducted by its laboratories at the 2023 and 2022 world championships. One of the boxers is Yu Ting and the other is Khalif.

The AIBA further stated that the two boxers were tested at the World Championships in Istanbul. However, as the test results were not available at that time, they still participated in the competition in Turkey.

Another important fact to consider is that last year, the IOC rescinded its recognition of the International Boxing Federation. This was due to financial and management issues. As a result, the Paris Boxing Federation, which was appointed by the IOC, will be responsible for hosting the Olympics. This further means that the eligibility rules are different from those of the International Boxing Federation.

International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams said of the two boxers’ participation in the Olympics: “It is written in their passports that they are female and that is true, they are female.”

Also read: List of athletes and countries disqualified from the Olympics as of 2024, click here!

The second question is what are the differences between the rules of IOC and IBA?

In 2021, the International Sports Federations developed a set of rules for the International Olympic Committee. These rules were developed taking into account important principles such as “inclusion”, “evidence-based approach”, “fairness”, “non-discrimination”, “prevention of harm” and “no assumption of advantage”. This recommendation means that each sport can have its own rules.

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Prior to this, the IOC had established testosterone level limits of 10 nanomoles per liter (nmol/L) for female athletes who changed gender from male to female in order to become a female athlete. However, testosterone levels are no longer part of the IOC regulations.

Finally, Angela Carini’s withdrawal and the response from the IOC and IBF

The AIBA said two boxers who did not meet the gender-based eligibility criteria, Yu Ting and Khalif, underwent a special and recognised test but were not examined yesterday. The AIBA further said the details of the test would be kept confidential. “While AIBA remains committed to ensuring fair competition at all events, we are concerned about the inconsistency in the application of qualification criteria by other sports organisations, including the Olympic Games,” the AIBA said.

The International Olympic Committee has since expressed concern about the verbal abuse the two boxers have received and the arbitrary decision of the International Boxing Association. The International Boxing Association said: “The two athletes are victims of the sudden and arbitrary decision of the International Boxing Association.”

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