The International Boxing Association disqualified Khelif from an event last year for having a high level of testosterone in her system.

Martina Navratilova slams “deplorable” IOC for allowing Imene Khelif, boxer who failed gender tests, to fight against Angela Carini at Paris Olympics

Martina Navratilova has further slammed the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for allowing Imane Khelif to compete in women’s boxing at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The American legend has been vocal against the IOC’s decision to allow the Algerian to compete with the women.

Khelif was disqualified from competing in the Women’s World Boxing Championships last year after failing a gender eligibility test. The International Boxing Association (IBA) stated that the athlete had a high level of testosterone.

Surprisingly, the IOC has allowed Khelif to compete at the Paris Olympics, which has been a controversial decision. On Thursday (August 1), Khelif’s opponent Italy’s Angela Carini quit their Round of 16 bout in the 66-kg after just 46 seconds.

During the bout, Carini’s headgear was dislodged after a few punches were exchanged. She complained about an intense pain in her nose and was in tears in the ring after quitting the bout. She later refused to shake hands with Khelif and left the ring.

Martina Navratilova took to social media to slam the IOC and called the governing body ‘deplorable’.

Deplorable. This will not end well for the people in power who allowed this to happen.

Martina Navratilova said on X (formerly known as Twitter)

Khelif competed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where she failed to win a medal. She is an accomplished amateur boxer, having won a silver medal at the 2022 World Boxing Championships.

IOC defends its decision to allow Imane Khelif to compete in women’s boxing, despite eligibility controversy

The IOC recently defended its decision to allow Algeria’s Imane Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting to compete in women’s boxing at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Both athletes were disqualified from the World Boxing Championships last year after failing gender eligibility tests.
Paris Olympics finds itself in yet another controversy, this time with XY ChromosomesAlgeria’s Imane Khelif (L), Lin Yu-ting winning an event (R) (Source: Instagram/X)
However, the IOC has less strict gender eligibility rules. A spokesperson revealed that both athletes were declared as female on their passports and thus they could compete in women’s boxing at the Summer Games.

Obviously I am not going to comment on individuals. That’s really invidious and unfair. But I would just say that everyone competing in the women’s category is complying with the competition eligibility rules. They are women in their passports and it is stated that is the case,.

Mark Adams, IOC spokesperson, said (via The Guardian)

On Wednesday, two other athletes caused a stir on social media. Zambia’s Barbra Banda and Racheal Kundananji, two soccer players who were ruled out of a tournament in 2022 because of abnormally high testosterone levels, scored five goals during their 6-5 defeat to Australia.