International Olympic Committee (IOC)
President Thomas Bach on Saturday told a press conference he
never had any doubt that Imane Khelif is a woman amid a major
controversy over Thursday's women's boxing match at Paris 2024
between Khelif and Italy's Angela Carini.
Also referring to Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting, Boch said "we
have two boxers who were born women, who grew up as women, who
have passports as women and who have competed as women for
years.
"This is a clear definition of a woman", said IOC's president,
stressing the position expressed Friday to ANSA after meeting
with Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni over the Carini-Khelif case.
Both boxers were disqualified from their championships in 2023
after the International Boxing Association said they failed
gender eligibility testing
"What we are seeing now is that some want to take possession of
the definition of woman.
"I urge these people to provide us with a scientific definition
of what it means to be a woman.
"But we won't contribute to political debates and inciting
hatred on social media is unacceptable", said Boch.
Carini, 25, from Naples, stopped fighting seconds into round of
16 women's welterweight (under 66kg) contest saying the first
punch she suffered hurt too much and it was clear she was
outpowered.
The IOC has used a different set of rules for admission to the
Paris 2024 tournament than those for the women's boxing world
championships.
Meloni said Thursday that the Carini-Khelif match was not a fair
fight and women should not have to compete against opponents
with "male genetic characteristics".
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