Olympic gold medalist Imane Khelif will return to competitive women’s boxing in the Netherlands in June, despite conclusive tests showing the presence of male chromosomes (in Khelif’s imposing physique).
The 26-year-old was widely accused of having an unfair advantage while coasting to victory in a series of dangerous fights in Paris last year against biologically female opponents. Despite this, World Boxing’s president Boris van der Vorst is still accepting the fighter in the female category.
Rubbing salt in the wound, Kotinos—Khelif’s Qatari PR company—prepared for the fight with an Instagram post:
When Imane lands a hit, enemy egos are sent straight to the graveyard.
Khelif—like Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan—was disqualified from the 2023 World Championships in Delhi because of the results of International Boxing Association (IBA) chromosome testing. In contrast, the International Olympic Committee dismissed the IBA tests and went with the word ‘woman’ on both competitors’ passports.
Women’s rights groups in Eindhoven plan to protest at this mis-match next month.
