Imane Khelif issues six word statement after no show at European boxing tournament

Imane Khelif has issued a brief six word statement after she failed to appear at a European boxing tournament this week.

The Algerian Olympic boxing champion was set to compete in the Netherlands at the Eindhoven Box Cup, but was banned when World Boxing introduced new mandatory gender testing

Last summer, Khelif made headlines amid speculation surrounding her gender, as she won welterweight gold at the Paris Olympics.

A year before the games, Khelif, alongside Taiwanese fighter Lin Yu-ting allegedly failed the International Boxing Association's (IBA) gender eligibility guidelines.

However, she was cleared to compete at the Paris Games by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) who stripped the IBA of its role as boxing's amateur global governing body in 2023 due to concerns over how it was ran.

The IOC ruled that competitors were allowed to compete in the women's division if their passports listed them as female.

But Khelif has now banned from competing in all World Boxing events, unless she can provide proof of being a biological woman. This is a test she has not submitted to in the past nine months.

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She took to Instagram to make her first statement since she was a no show at the competition.

Khelif simply said: "Eid Mubarak to everyone celebrating."

It appears that Khelif remains in good spirits despite World Boxing's ruling barring her from making a competitive return.

Was Khelif meant to compete in Eindhoven?

Khelif was set to compete at the competition, until World Boxing introduced their new policy.

The policy requires all athletes over the age of 18 to to undergo a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) genetic test to determine their sex at birth and if they are eligible to compete.

A World Boxing statement said: "World Boxing has written to the Algerian Boxing Federation to inform it that Imane Khelif will not be allowed to participate in the female category at the Eindhoven Box Cup or any World Boxing event until Imane Khelif undergoes sex testing.

"This decision reflects concerns over the safety and well-being of all boxers, including Imane Khelif, and aims to protect the mental and physical health of all participants in light of some of the reactions that have been expressed in relation to the boxer's potential participation at the Eindhoven Box Cup."

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Eindhoven Box Cup media director Dirk Renders said: "The decision of Imane’s exclusion is not ours.

"We regret it."

Eindhoven's mayor criticised World Boxing's decision to implement mandatory sex testing.

He wrote: "“As far as we are concerned, all athletes are welcome in Eindhoven.

“Excluding athletes based on controversial ‘gender tests’ certainly does not fit in with that.

“We are expressing our disapproval of this decision today and are calling on the organisation to admit Imane Khelif after all.”