Paris 2024: The Scandal Continues in Women's Boxing – Who is Imane Khalif?

The scandal surrounding women's boxing at the Paris Olympic Games continues to generate turmoil. The incident has sparked significant controversy between the public and two international boxing governing bodies.

Italian boxer Angela Carini was forced to withdraw from the first round of Olympic boxing competition after her bout against Algerian boxer Imane Khalif. According to Carini, "It was hellish pain." The Italian left the ring just 46 seconds into the match and was in tears. "I took the second hit to my nose, and I felt such pain that I no longer wanted to continue. Did I let the journalists influence me? No, I was here to win at the Olympic Games. Giving up was a gesture of maturity, not surrender," the Italian athlete stated.

Khalif is one of the two athletes embroiled in the controversy, as she was disqualified from the women's boxing world championship due to elevated testosterone levels.

Khalif and Taiwanese two-time world champion Lin Yu-Tin were granted permission to compete in Paris after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) revoked the governing status of the International Boxing Association (IBA) last year due to management issues and took over responsibility for conducting boxing events in Paris in 2024.

The IBA also released a statement confirming that the disqualification decisions for Khalif and Lin were made "after thorough scrutiny." The disagreements between the IBA and Olympic organizers regarding the 2024 Paris Games escalated to the point of creating a separate boxing division to manage the summer boxing competitions.

Imane Khalif, 25, hails from Tiaret, Algeria, and is currently a UNICEF ambassador. She made her professional boxing debut at the 2018 World Championships, finishing in 17th place. In the 2019 tournament, she ranked 19th. Khalif also competed at the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games, where she was eliminated in the quarter-finals by Ireland's Kellie Harrington. She placed second at the women's boxing world championship, losing to Amy Broadhurst. In subsequent years, she has won gold medals at the 2022 African Championships, the Mediterranean Games, and the 2023 Arab Games.

It was at the 2023 World Boxing Championships where gender-related controversies first arose around Imane Khalif. During the 2023 World Boxing Championships held in New Delhi, IBA President Umar Kremlov banned Khalif from competition. "Based on DNA tests, we discovered several athletes who were trying to deceive their competitors by presenting themselves as women. The test results proved that they have XY chromosomes. Such athletes were removed from the competitions," Kremlov declared.

The International Olympic Committee responded to the criticisms, stating, "All those participating in women's competitions adhere to the selection criteria. Their passports indicate that they are female, and they are indeed women."