New Delhi: It has been almost three months since the Paris Olympics 2024 culminated but the showpiece event continues to remain in news for one or the other reason. After the controversial Algerian boxer Imane Khelif declared as male a few days back, the Olympic boxing champion has hit the spotlight again after reports mentioned that she has decided to take the legal route after the fresh gender eligibility claims, according to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to German broadcaster DW.
Khelif, who bagged a boxing gold at the premier event, was declared a male after a report in French magazine Le Correspondant claimed to have seen a leaked medical report about the Algerian, which confirmed that the boxer is a man. Meanwhile, the IOC, which has always come to the boxer’s rescue and defended her rights to participate in the women’s category, says the report cites ‘unverified documents whose origin cannot be confirmed’.
IOC confirms legal action
The apex body of Olympics, IOC, has said that the boxer, who is already taking a legal route against individuals who commented on her gender, is now ‘preparing a lawsuit’ as a response to the massive claims. The IOC further said that the boxer is just receiving abuse and nothing else. The test were conducted by the Russian-led International Boxing Association (IBA), who were later stripped of their world governing body status by the IOC.
The IBA claimed that the boxer failed to meet the eligibility criteria for participating in a women’s competition. The body defines a female as an individual with chromosome XX and males with chromosome XY, which Khelif was found to have. The Olympic body had further questioned the credibility of the IBA’s tests, saying they were unreliable. Khelif’s opening bout at the Olympics against Angela Carini was abandoned after just 46 seconds.
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