Women’s boxing is adjusting to the realization that a up-to-date dawn is inevitable one way or another. The coming storm will come with Imane Khelif’s Olympic gold medal win.
Khelif stood on the podium Friday after defeating Yang Liu in the welterweight division, a victory that will send shockwaves through the sport until the International Olympic Committee conducts official testing.
Khelif is currently believed to have an advantage over men due to DSD, a disorder of sexual development that causes females with the condition to have an XY chromosome, while having the Y chromosome reserved exclusively for males confers significant advantages.
Tests conducted by IBA [formerly AIBA] and ratified by a certified lab were sent to the IOC and ignored after Khelifa and featherweight Lin Yu-Ting were diagnosed with DSD in 2022 and 2023. Both were ultimately barred from the World Championships, which were not being held under the IOC banner at the time, because the IBA was suspended for misconduct.
This suspension is a significant factor in why there have been many attempts to discredit the testing procedures and why the IOC allowed Khelif and Yu-Ting to compete. The IOC also issued a statement confirming that it would not remove either athlete from Paris 2024 during the competition. However, now that Khelif has the gold medal, the IOC is facing a huge crisis due to DSD and the Y chromosome issue.
Fans, media and those involved in the sport will demand that the IOC conduct its own clear testing over the next four years. If the Y chromosome is present, who can qualify to fight in the women’s tournament in Los Angeles in 2028 will have to be reassessed.
The Y Chromosome Debate in Women’s Boxing
Mauricio Sulaiman, head of the World Boxing Council and one of those trying to save boxing’s inclusion in the 2028 Games, expressed his views on the debate before Khelif won gold. Sulaiman blames the bitter feud between the now-exiled IBA and the IOC.
“The news that has flooded the networks and tarnished the atmosphere of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games is deplorable and clearly exposes the crisis that amateur and Olympic boxing is going through,” Sulaiman said.
“Two female boxers were accused of being transgender, i.e. having XY chromosomes [male]or some other condition [DSD]which gives them an unfair competitive advantage in the fight against women.
“The attacks and posts continue. The enormous majority do not have the minimum elements to express an informed and expressive opinion. The central and most earnest factor that should matter is the integrity, safety and well-being of athletes.
“The main conflict was the media war between the IOC and the IBA, the International Federation recognized by the same entity. They took center stage, attacking each other in a clear power struggle that will not solve the heart of the problem.”
Regarding Khelif and Yu-Ting, Sulaiman added: “Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting are the warriors in question. Without definitive evidence, they were apparently born in the 20th century. [female]. They are not trans and were clearly not born with a Y chromosome, but they do have a genetic disorder [DSD] which gives them a significant physical advantage.
Future Testing and Transparency
“It is not the fault of Imane and Lin who suffer attacks, contempt and mockery. Everything is mixed, from science and medicine, homophobia, sexism, human rights, laws, principles and even abandonment of common sense to attack them.
“The truth is that their rivals are taking unacceptable risks when they enter the ring. Boxing is not a game. It’s a contact sport,” he added.
Like most people who care about the future of women’s boxing, Sulaiman is also in the murky about the whole situation. It’s up to the IOC to sort out the mess that continues to confuse and divide with the ongoing plague of social media.
World Boxing, a up-to-date organization that seeks to replace the IBA as the Olympic standard for amateur boxing, could play a key role in shaping the future of this debate.
The first thing the sport needs is transparency and honesty, which is why there has been mass hysteria on social media. If those involved, including boxers, had disclosed the test results — which have not been fully contested — much of the abuse caused by misinformation could have been avoided.
But knowing you have an advantage is one thing. Acting on it is another, and that is why the authorities must intervene for the good of Olympic boxing — if it can secure its future participation.
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