World Boxing say ‘not correct’ to have named Khelif in sex test statement

World Boxing on Wednesday apologised to the Algerian federation saying it had been incorrect to name boxer Imane Khelif in a statement announcing mandatory gender testing to determine the eligibility of male and female athletes wanting to take part in its competitions.

The international federation said it was introducing the policy after the furore surrounding boxers including women’s welterweight gold medallist Khelif at last year’s Paris Olympics.

World Boxing will organise the boxing competition at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics after being granted provisional recognition by the International Olympic Committee.

World Boxing said it had informed the Algerian Boxing Federation Khelif would have to undergo the test if she wanted to compete at the Eindhoven Box Cup in the Netherlands on June 5-10.

But the federation rowed back on having named Khelif in their statement.

“The president of World Boxing does not think it was correct to have a named a specific athlete in a statement issued last Friday,” the body said.

World Boxing, it continued, “has written personally to the president of the Algerian Boxing Federation to offer a formal and sincere apology which acknowledges that greater effort should have been made to avoid linking the policy to any individual”.

Under the new policy, all athletes over 18 that want to participate in a World Boxing owned or sanctioned competition will need to undergo a PCR, or polymerase chain reaction genetic test, to determine what sex they were at birth and their eligibility to compete. 

The PCR test is a laboratory technique used to detect specific genetic material, in this case the SRY gene, that reveals the presence of the Y chromosome, which is an indicator of biological sex. 

The test can be conducted by a nasal or mouth swab, or by taking a sample of saliva or blood.

National federations will be responsible for testing and will be required to confirm the sex of their athletes when entering them into World Boxing competitions by producing certification of their chromosomal sex, as determined by a PCR test.

Khelif’s success at the Paris Olympics, along with that of Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, sparked a raging gender eligibility debate, with high-profile figures such as US President Donald Trump and Elon Musk weighing in.

Khelif and Lin were disqualified from the International Boxing Association’s 2023 world championships after the organisation, the long-standing governing body of amateur boxing, said they had failed gender eligibility tests.

The IOC has severed links with the IBA over financial, governance and ethical concerns. The IBA is led by the Kremlin-linked Russian Umar Kremlev.

Last month the IOC provisionally recognised World Boxing as the body to oversee the sport at future Games.