Imane Khelif has taken her case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, seeking to overturn World Boxing's decision requiring athletes to undergo genetic PCR sex testing. The Algerian Olympic gold medalist won't be competing in the World Boxing Championships starting this Thursday in Liverpool, as she didn't register through her national federation.
"She has the right to appeal. For us, it's important to emphasize that we introduced mandatory testing to have safe and competitive competitions, fair competitions," said Boris van der Vorst, World Boxing president, on Wednesday.
The global boxing governing body, which will oversee boxing at the 2028 Olympic Games, implemented mandatory sex testing for all female boxers in its competitions last May. This policy came less than a year after Khelif and Taiwan's Lin Yu-ting won gold medals in Paris amid gender eligibility controversies.
Interestingly, when asked if Khelif would have failed the test, Van der Vorst refused to speculate: "It's too early to draw conclusions. She simply hasn't registered on behalf of her own federation here in Liverpool."
The Dutch official confirmed that Lin Yu-ting also won't be competing in the world championships, noting: "I know she's also not on the registration list from the National Federation."
Van der Vorst defended the testing policy as essential for maintaining integrity in the sport. "We're talking not just about amateur boxing, but Olympic boxing. For us, that's our brand, because that's the 'why' of World Boxing. We created World Boxing to save the Olympic dream," he explained.
Will this legal challenge force World Boxing to reconsider its testing requirements, or will the organization stand firm on its policy? The decision could have far-reaching implications for gender verification in combat sports.
