Algeria condemn ‘unethical targeting’ of boxer over eligibility

Algeria’s Olympic Committee has condemned “baseless” attacks on their boxer Imane Khelif after questions were raised over her participation at the Paris Olympics.

Khelif is one of two athletes who have been cleared to compete in the women’s boxing, having been disqualified from last year’s Women’s World Championships for failing to meet eligibility criteria.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said Khelif was disqualified in New Delhi for failing a testosterone level test.

Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting was stripped of a bronze medal at the event, staged in March 2023, after failing a gender eligibility test.

Khelif will face Italian Angela Carini in a welterweight bout on Thursday, while featherweight Lin takes on Sitora Turdibekova on Friday.

Italy’s family minister Eugenia Roccella and sports minister Andrea Abodi have raised concerns about the eligibility rules at Paris, as have some of the boxers in the women’s competition.

The Algeria Olympic Committee (COA) said: “COA strongly condemns the unethical targeting and maligning of our esteemed athlete, Imane Khelif, with baseless propaganda from certain foreign media outlets.”

Khelif, who is a Unicef ambassador, has previously spoken about growing up in rural village and not being allowed to take part in sport initially by her father as “he did not approve of boxing for girls”.

The Algeria Olympic Committee added: “Such attacks on her personality and dignity are deeply unfair, especially as she prepares for the pinnacle of her career at the Olympics. The COA has taken all necessary measures to protect our champion.”

Both Khelif and Lin competed at the delayed Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021. Lin is a two-time winner at the Asian Women Amateur Boxing Championships.

The IOC said all boxers in Paris “comply with the competition’s eligibility and entry regulations”.

On Tuesday, IOC spokesman Mark Adams said: “These athletes have competed many times before for many years, they haven’t just suddenly arrived – they competed in Tokyo.”

The 2023 World Championships, at which Khelif and Lin were disqualified, were organised by the International Boxing Association (IBA).

But last June, the Russia-led body was stripped of its status as the sport’s world governing body by the IOC, which organised the boxing competitions at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and is doing so again for Paris 2024.

In a statement on Wednesday, the IBA said the pair were disqualified to “to uphold the level of fairness and utmost integrity of the competition”.

It said they “did not undergo a testosterone examination but were subject to a separate and recognised test, whereby the specifics remain confidential”.

“This test conclusively indicated that both athletes did not meet the required necessary eligibility criteria and were found to have competitive advantages over other female competitors,” the body added.

The pair had tests at the World Championships in Istanbul 2022 and then again in 2023.

The IBA said while Lin did not appeal against the disqualification decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Khelif did make an appeal but later withdrew it.

“The IOC’s differing regulations on these matters, in which IBA is not involved, raise serious questions about both competitive fairness and athletes’ safety,” it added.

The IOC and Paris 2024 organisers have been approached for comment.