An Algerian boxer reached the finals, but his opponent refused to compete because of his gender

Central Asia (CA) – Algerian athlete Iman Khelif won the semi-final of the 66kg boxing competition at the Paris Olympics. Her opponent was Janjaem Suwannaphaeng from Thailand.

In the 1/8 finals, Italian representative Angela Carini gave up the match with the Algerian player after 46 seconds due to a direct hit to the head.

In 2023, the International Boxing Association (IBA) disqualified athletes from participating in the world championships for failing a gender test. The name of the test and the results were not made public.

Last year, the International Olympic Committee stripped the IBA of its rights to organize boxing matches at the Olympics, citing “governance, refereeing, financial dealings, ethics”.

Taiwan’s Iman Khalif and Lin Yuting have received permission from the International Olympic Committee, the organizer of the Paris Olympics boxing competition. So far, Taiwan’s representatives have reached the semi-finals in the 57kg category.

The IOC said in a statement that Iman Khalif was born a girl, lived as a girl and her gender had never been questioned. The IOC said the two athletes were “victims of a sudden and arbitrary decision by the IBA, who suddenly disqualified them from the 2023 World Cup without any due process.”