Olympics 2024 | Why was Khelif allowed to compete in women's category at Paris Games?

The IOC refused to recognise the disqualification criteria by IBA in June 2023 following disputes pertaining to management and finances. An IOC-appointed Paris Boxing Unit set the rules for boxing in Olympics Games, which clarified that rules for boxers to qualify for the Paris Games were not as they were under IBA.

The International Boxing Association (IBA) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have strongly opposed each other's stands on Algerain boxer Imane Khelif's boxing bout which she won against Italy's Angela Carini at the Paris Games 2024.

Algeria's Khelif won the 66-kg boxing match after Carini abandoned the fight claiming that "she was never hit so hard", after which Khelif, who failed gender eligibility tests in IBA World Championship 2023 in Delhi, was declared the winner.

However, Khelif's win yet again sparked a dispute between IOC and IBA on certain aspects including the 'testosterone level' for fighters to be eligible for a sport like boxing, in the Olympics.

Why was Imane Khelif allowed to compete against Angela Carini?

The IOC said the rules of eligibility were based on those of the Tokyo Games in 2021 and could not be changed during a competition.

The IBA was stripped of its status as the global governing body for boxing by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in June last year because of its failure to complete reforms on governance, finance and ethical issues.

The IOC is therefore running the boxing competition at the Paris Games, as it did at the Tokyo Olympics, and its rules on the inclusion of athletes with DSDs and gender diversity in the women's competition apply.

The latest IOC guidelines issued in 2021 state that inclusion should be the default in such cases and that athletes should only be excluded from women's competition if there are clear fairness or safety issues.

When Yu-ting and Khelif qualified for the Paris Games, the IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said, “They are women in their passports and it’s stated that this is the case, that they are female”, as per a report in The Indian Express.

The IOC refused to recognise the disqualification criteria by IBA in June 2023 following disputes pertaining to management and finances. An IOC-appointed Paris Boxing Unit conducts boxing in Olympics Games which clarified that rules for boxers to qualify in Paris games is not as they were under IBA.

Are IOC and IBA regulations different?

Yes. As per a report in The Indian Express, the IOC left it for the sports federations worldwide to develop their own set of rules, keeping in mind key principles of ‘fairness’, ‘inclusion’, ‘non-discrimination’, ‘evidence-based approach’, ‘no presumption of advantage’, and ‘prevention of harm’. Testosterone levels are not a part of IOC's regulations.

However, Before 2021, the IOC had specified a testosterone limit of below 10 nanomoles per litre (nmol/L) for women athletes who had transitioned from male to female if they wanted to participate in the female category.

What opinions do the IOC and IBA have regarding the gender controversy after Carini withdrew?

Algeria's Khelif, and Taiwan's Lin Yu-ting were cleared to compete in Paris despite being disqualified at the 2023 World Championships after failing IBA eligibility rules that prevent athletes with male XY chromosomes competing in women's events.

“While IBA remains committed to ensuring competitive fairness in all of our events, we express concern over the inconsistent application of eligibility criteria by other sporting organizations, including those overseeing the Olympic Games,” the IBA communicated in a statement.

Taking strong objection to the observations by IBA, the IOC said, “These two athletes were the victims of a sudden and arbitrary decision by the IBA. Towards the end of the IBA World Championships in 2023, they were suddenly disqualified without any due process.”

The IOC said the IBA decision to disqualify the boxers last year was arbitrary and the main cause for the furore that has seen people such as British author J K Rowling and billionaire Elon Musk voice their opposition to them competing in the Games.

Meanwhile, the International Boxing Association has declared that it will award Italy's Angela Carini, who lost her welterweight round-of-16 bout against Algerian Imane Khelif at the Paris Olympics in 46 seconds on Thursday, $50,000 in prize money.

The IBA, which was stripped of its international recognition by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) last year, said Carini would receive $50,000, her federation a further $25,000 and her coach an additional $25,000.

"I do not understand why they killed women's boxing," IBA President Umar Kremlev said. "Only eligible athletes should compete in the ring for the sake of safety. I could not look at her tears."

(With Reuters inputs)