IOC Chief Says Criticism Of Algerian Boxer Who Failed Gender Test Unacceptable

MOSCOW, Aug. 3 (Bernama-Sputnik) -- International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach on Saturday called unacceptable the hatred and aggression toward Algerian boxer Iman Khelif, who failed a gender test last year, saying that she has always been a woman, reported Sputnik.

On August 1, Italian female boxer Angela Carini surrendered after 46 seconds in the 1/8 finals with Khelif, announcing that she was finishing her boxing career the next day. The IOC approved Khelif's participation in the Olympic women's tournament despite the fact that the boxer had been disqualified from the 2023 World Cup for failing a gender eligibility test. The International Boxing Association (IBA) found the presence of XY chromosomes and increased testosterone levels in her body.

"To put an end to (the aggression) that's more up to you, than up to us ... We are talking about women's boxing. We have two boxers, who were born as women. Both been raised as woman, who have passport as a woman and who have competed for many years as women ... We are ready to listen, we are ready to look into it, but we will not take part in a politically motivated cultural war ... What is going on in this context in a social media with all this hate speech, with this aggression and abuse, and fueled by this agenda, is totally unacceptable," Bach said during a press conference.

--BERNAMA-SPUTNIK