World Boxing on May 30 Friday announced that all the boxers competing in events being held under its jurisdiction will now be required to undergo compulsory sex testing. The move is aimed at ensuring a level playing field in men’s and women’s competitions. The new policy, which includes genetic testing for all boxers aged 18 and above.
The new policy comes less than a year after Algeria’s Imane Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting won gold medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics amid a gender-eligibility controversy. World Boxing in a statement has made it clear that Khelif will be denied participation in any of its competition she undergoes such a test.
World Boxing is currently overseeing all amateur boxing competitions and will organize all the boxing events of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, as mandated by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
“Imane Khelif may not participate in the female category at… any World Boxing event until Imane Khelif undergoes genetic sex screening in accordance with World Boxing’s rules and testing procedures,” World Boxing said in a statement.
According to a Reuters report World Boxing has barred Khelif from participating in the upcoming Eindhoven Box Cup which commences in Eindhoven from June 5. The report says that the world body had written to the Algerian Boxing Federation informing its decision.
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‘New Eligibility Rules’
“These new eligibility rules were developed with the express purpose of safeguarding athletes in combat sports, particularly given the physical risks associated with Olympic-style boxing,” World Boxing has said.
According to the new eligibility rules, every boxer above the age of 18 will have to undertake a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) genetic test. For the genetic test an athlete will have to undergo a nasal or mouth swab or deposit their saliva or blood sample.
“The PCR test is a laboratory technique used to detect specific genetic material, in this case the SRY gene, that reveals the presence of the Y chromosome, which is an indicator of biological sex,” the World Boxing added.
According to World Boxing athletes with a Y chromosome or with differences of sexual development (DSD) that result in male androgenization will be categorized as male. Those without the Y chromosome or with DSD conditions that do not involve male androgenization will be eligible to compete in the women’s category.
In March this year Khelif had said that she was determined to defend her Olympic gold medal which she won in the women’s 66kg category by beating Yang Liu of China. She also said that she was not intimidated by US President Donald Trump as she was not a transgender.
Khelif’s commenst came after Trump signed an executive order in February banned transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports.
This is not the first time Khelif has faced sanction due to her genderp-related eligibility. In 2023, she was barred from participating in the World Championships by the International Boxing Association (IBA) as a test reported that she was ineligible to fight as a woman on the grounds of gender.
The IOC though took away IBA’s recognition as the game’s governing body over governance issue and permitted Khelif to compete at Paris Olympics.
Prakhar Sachdeo
The Sportz Planet Desk
