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Paris Olympics Officials Issue Statement After Controversy Erupts Over Imane Khelif’s Failed Gender Test
IOC responds to controversy over Imane Khelif’s failed gender test with an official statement addressing the contentious issue.
Paris Olympics has just been ravaged by a fresh controversy. During a boxing match between Imane Khelif and Angela Carini, an unusual incident took place that rattled the entire sporting realm.
Coming into the match, Carini had high hopes of progressing to the next round. However, with just 46 seconds on the clock, Angela Carini decided to pull out of the fight. Later, she stated that one of the punches from Khelif hit her so hard that she did not want to risk the safety of her career or her physical health.
As a matter of fact, Imane Khelif had a failed sex test last year. Khelif was disqualified from the world championships after she failed to pass a testosterone test. But this time around, Khelif was awarded the win, which resulted in a heavy backlash from across the globe. Amidst a series of rising discontent, the International Olympics Committee decided to intervene in the matter and issued an official statement.
The statement read, “Every person has the right to practise sport without discrimination," it said. "All athletes participating in the boxing tournament of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 comply with the competition’s eligibility and entry regulations, as well as all applicable medical regulations set by the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit (PBU).”
IOC, in their statement, also stated that the misinformation surrounding Khelif was fake. According to the IOC, Khelif is a registered female boxer and had competed in the women’s division for many years in the past. Imane Khelif also took part in the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 as a female boxer.
However, this clarification did not, in any way, pacify the controversy. Providing her take on the matter, Angela Carini mentioned that the bout was everything that she had prepared for her entire life. Carini even said that she has always fought with male boxers, including her brother. But the pain she felt today was just too much to take.
Adding a new angle to the entire fiasco, the Algerian Boxing Federation celebrated Khelif’s victory with a strong statement. The statement congratulated Khelif for cruising to a victory against her opponent. They also termed her win as effortless, adding further drama to the entire fiasco. Meanwhile, personalities like Elon Musk and JK Rowling have vehemently questioned the inclusion of a boxer in the Olympics who had previously failed a gender test.
Expressing their discontent, the Italian Sports Minister Andrea Abodi, and Family Minister Eugenia Roccella, asked the IOC to clarify their stance on the eligibility criteria. Thus, with Paris heating up significantly, it remains to be seen how the raging controversy ends.
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