File photos of Taapsee Pannu (left) and Imane Khelif.© Instagram – @Taapsee and @jeuxolympiques

The kind of bullying and abuse Olympic boxer Imane Khelif has been subjected to makes one thing crystal clear: in the age of social media, misinformation is easiest to amplify when it’s rooted in misogyny, transphobia and racism, and amplified by verified, blue-ticked accounts on X. It has also made it clear that trans-hate will eventually come to haunt all women who do not fit traditional, conservative definitions of femininity.

Now that Imane Khelif has refused to take the online abuse in silence and is suing the key amplifiers – J.K. Rowling and Elon Musk – let’s revisit the brutal online hate campaign unleashed against the Olympic gold medallist, all for being a ‘non-feminine’ woman of colour. 

The Prime Purveyors Of Hate

On August 1, after facing Khelif for a whopping 45-second battle, Italian boxer Angela Carini forfeited the match. Later, she would tell the press, “I have never been punched so hard” and shed tears in front of the camera, as anyone would have in her position. However, seeing a white woman cry on television was, of course, too much to bear for champions of women’s rights like author J. K. Rowling, who has had a history of making transphobic comments. Rowling cried foul on X about a “man” punching a woman and about men’s rights activism having gone too far. Even the owner of X, Elon Musk, could not resist chiming in. It’s another story that Musk’s own views about transgender persons are worth some scrutiny and may be best described by his estranged daughter who he refuses to acknowledge.

The Imane Khelif case underlines a hard but unsurprising truth: we are not as progressive in 2024 as we would like to believe. Sure, there are more people today who are accepting of queer rights, gender equality, and just human rights in general, but in the country called the internet, this population is sparse.

Trans Hate Is Misogyny

When two people with a combined following of over 200 million people put out such derogatory posts against a woman, their legions of followers are bound to spew out the same misinformation, often with vile language. But Rowling and Musk’s comments also fanned the fire of deep-rooted transphobia and misogyny that still burns in all stratas of human classes, races, and nationalities. 

Trans hate is just another catalyst for overall misogyny. Groups abound on Reddit and Facebook where people aligned with the Rowling ideology simply attack any female celebrity they don’t think is “woman enough” and must therefore, be a transsexual or transgender; there is a word for this group too, “transvestigators”.  For example, if you like to lift weights and be muscular, then you are not feminine, and hence make for a perfect target for these ‘tranvestigators’. Like sports? Big cars? Not dainty, petite, blonde, and light-eyed enough? Wear too much makeup as if to hide male appearance? Wear too little makeup because you are a man trying to pass off as a ‘sporty woman’? Well, women who exhibit such traits “aren’t women”, according to tranvestigators. 

Coming back to the hate campaign against Khelif. Soon after her win in Paris and its fallout, conservative-leaning media outlets and social media handles started talking about her 2023 disqualification by the International Boxing Association (IBA) for failing a ‘gender eligibility test’. No matter the fact that the IBA itself was questioned by the Olympics for their ‘methods’ and that there have been accusations of corruption as well. The International Olympic Association (IOC) banned the IBA last year over its governance and finance issues, with the Olympic body allowing the boxing competition to be held in Paris. But alas, this grain of truth was buried deep under the rubble of misinformation that flooded the internet. 

A number of questions have been raised amid this storm. “How can ‘he’ be a woman?”, “IBA must have banned ‘him’ for a reason!”, “XY is a man! Only men have Testosterone!”, “He clearly looks like a man. He is built like a man.” 

Let’s try to answer them. 

Man, Woman, Other?

Khelif’s story is very Dangal-like. Indian audiences, if they read her full interview with UNICEF, may relate to the story of a young girl joining a sport that’s dominated by men. But unlike Dangal, she did not have a father ready to fight the world. She fought mostly alone in her childhood, while her family battled poverty to feed their children and sustain the family.

There’s also the fact that Algeria is a deeply religious Islamic country, where being trans may invite a host of legal challenges. If any of the ‘tranvestigators’ like Rowling or Musk followers had bothered to do a simple Google search, they would know Algeria would probably never send a ‘trans’ person to represent their country in the Olympics.  

XX or XY?

Doesn’t matter, honestly. Anyone who has studied genetics and chromosomes can answer this: the set of chromosomes that define sex (not gender) are named so based on their shape. Zoya Fatima, a teacher at Jamia Senior Secondary School, explains that women have two chromosomes shaped like ‘X’, while in men, one of them is shaped like a ‘Y’. “Genetic mutation can cause a foetus with XX to have a Y-shaped chromosome,” she explains, “They can have all female genitalia, even uterus in some cases, but ovaries in almost all cases are non-functional. But they can be mothers via IVF and have normal pregnancies. So it is incorrect to say that all XY automatically classify as male and man.”

If we were to go by the definitions recommended by conservative social media, then millions of women would immediately lose their right to be called a woman for having elevated testosterone levels. While testosterone is considered the ‘male hormone’, women produce it too – many with hormonal disorders, such as PCOS, tend to produce too much of it. Will these conditions void a woman’s right to be called a ‘woman’? 

If we consider science for our definitions, the majority of women with XY or XXY or XXYY chromosomal structures have one common denominator: a non-functional ovary. So that begs the question, is a perfectly functional ovary fundamental for being classified as a ‘woman’? If yes, what about a few thousand women who have ovarian insufficiency? Will they cease to be known as women? 

The Question Of Race

Women of colour who don’t fit conservative definitions of femininity have always had it worse. Barely a day before her match, Khelif’s Hungarian opponent, Luca Hamori, posted an incendiary picture on Instagram that showed Khelif as a ‘beast’. For centuries now, Black women have been mocked for their ‘masculinity’. Not too far in India itself, sprinter Duttee Chand had been on the receiving end of primitive gender tests. “In 2014, I challenged the IOC’s rule that a person with a higher testosterone level should not participate in the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland. It was noted that hormonal levels cannot increase athletic performance. I suffered a lot at that time. I faced a lot of controversy regarding my gender,” Chand told PTI after the Imane Khelif controversy erupted.

The abuse and attacks Imane Khelif has faced online will be remembered for years to come. The key takeaway is this: misinformation driven by racist, misogynist ideologies often travels much, much faster than the truth. 

(Anwiti Singh is Assistant Producer, NDTV)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author

The kind of bullying and abuse Olympic boxer Imane Khelif has been subjected to makes one thing crystal clear: in the age of social media, misinformation is easiest to amplify when it’s rooted in misogyny, transphobia and racism, and amplified by verified, blue-ticked accounts on X. It has also made it clear that trans-hate will eventually come to haunt all women who do not fit traditional, conservative definitions of femininity.

Now that Imane Khelif has refused to take the online abuse in silence and is suing the key amplifiers – J.K. Rowling and Elon Musk – let’s revisit the brutal online hate campaign unleashed against the Olympic gold medallist, all for being a ‘non-feminine’ woman of colour. 

The Prime Purveyors Of Hate

On August 1, after facing Khelif for a whopping 45-second battle, Italian boxer Angela Carini forfeited the match. Later, she would tell the press, “I have never been punched so hard” and shed tears in front of the camera, as anyone would have in her position. However, seeing a white woman cry on television was, of course, too much to bear for champions of women’s rights like author J. K. Rowling, who has had a history of making transphobic comments. Rowling cried foul on X about a “man” punching a woman and about men’s rights activism having gone too far. Even the owner of X, Elon Musk, could not resist chiming in. It’s another story that Musk’s own views about transgender persons are worth some scrutiny and may be best described by his estranged daughter who he refuses to acknowledge.

The Imane Khelif case underlines a hard but unsurprising truth: we are not as progressive in 2024 as we would like to believe. Sure, there are more people today who are accepting of queer rights, gender equality, and just human rights in general, but in the country called the internet, this population is sparse.

Trans Hate Is Misogyny

When two people with a combined following of over 200 million people put out such derogatory posts against a woman, their legions of followers are bound to spew out the same misinformation, often with vile language. But Rowling and Musk’s comments also fanned the fire of deep-rooted transphobia and misogyny that still burns in all stratas of human classes, races, and nationalities. 

Trans hate is just another catalyst for overall misogyny. Groups abound on Reddit and Facebook where people aligned with the Rowling ideology simply attack any female celebrity they don’t think is “woman enough” and must therefore, be a transsexual or transgender; there is a word for this group too, “transvestigators”.  For example, if you like to lift weights and be muscular, then you are not feminine, and hence make for a perfect target for these ‘tranvestigators’. Like sports? Big cars? Not dainty, petite, blonde, and light-eyed enough? Wear too much makeup as if to hide male appearance? Wear too little makeup because you are a man trying to pass off as a ‘sporty woman’? Well, women who exhibit such traits “aren’t women”, according to tranvestigators. 

Coming back to the hate campaign against Khelif. Soon after her win in Paris and its fallout, conservative-leaning media outlets and social media handles started talking about her 2023 disqualification by the International Boxing Association (IBA) for failing a ‘gender eligibility test’. No matter the fact that the IBA itself was questioned by the Olympics for their ‘methods’ and that there have been accusations of corruption as well. The International Olympic Association (IOC) banned the IBA last year over its governance and finance issues, with the Olympic body allowing the boxing competition to be held in Paris. But alas, this grain of truth was buried deep under the rubble of misinformation that flooded the internet. 

A number of questions have been raised amid this storm. “How can ‘he’ be a woman?”, “IBA must have banned ‘him’ for a reason!”, “XY is a man! Only men have Testosterone!”, “He clearly looks like a man. He is built like a man.” 

Let’s try to answer them. 

Man, Woman, Other?

Khelif’s story is very Dangal-like. Indian audiences, if they read her full interview with UNICEF, may relate to the story of a young girl joining a sport that’s dominated by men. But unlike Dangal, she did not have a father ready to fight the world. She fought mostly alone in her childhood, while her family battled poverty to feed their children and sustain the family.

There’s also the fact that Algeria is a deeply religious Islamic country, where being trans may invite a host of legal challenges. If any of the ‘tranvestigators’ like Rowling or Musk followers had bothered to do a simple Google search, they would know Algeria would probably never send a ‘trans’ person to represent their country in the Olympics.  

XX or XY?

Doesn’t matter, honestly. Anyone who has studied genetics and chromosomes can answer this: the set of chromosomes that define sex (not gender) are named so based on their shape. Zoya Fatima, a teacher at Jamia Senior Secondary School, explains that women have two chromosomes shaped like ‘X’, while in men, one of them is shaped like a ‘Y’. “Genetic mutation can cause a foetus with XX to have a Y-shaped chromosome,” she explains, “They can have all female genitalia, even uterus in some cases, but ovaries in almost all cases are non-functional. But they can be mothers via IVF and have normal pregnancies. So it is incorrect to say that all XY automatically classify as male and man.”

If we were to go by the definitions recommended by conservative social media, then millions of women would immediately lose their right to be called a woman for having elevated testosterone levels. While testosterone is considered the ‘male hormone’, women produce it too – many with hormonal disorders, such as PCOS, tend to produce too much of it. Will these conditions void a woman’s right to be called a ‘woman’? 

If we consider science for our definitions, the majority of women with XY or XXY or XXYY chromosomal structures have one common denominator: a non-functional ovary. So that begs the question, is a perfectly functional ovary fundamental for being classified as a ‘woman’? If yes, what about a few thousand women who have ovarian insufficiency? Will they cease to be known as women? 

The Question Of Race

Women of colour who don’t fit conservative definitions of femininity have always had it worse. Barely a day before her match, Khelif’s Hungarian opponent, Luca Hamori, posted an incendiary picture on Instagram that showed Khelif as a ‘beast’. For centuries now, Black women have been mocked for their ‘masculinity’. Not too far in India itself, sprinter Duttee Chand had been on the receiving end of primitive gender tests. “In 2014, I challenged the IOC’s rule that a person with a higher testosterone level should not participate in the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland. It was noted that hormonal levels cannot increase athletic performance. I suffered a lot at that time. I faced a lot of controversy regarding my gender,” Chand told PTI after the Imane Khelif controversy erupted.

The abuse and attacks Imane Khelif has faced online will be remembered for years to come. The key takeaway is this: misinformation driven by racist, misogynist ideologies often travels much, much faster than the truth. 

(Anwiti Singh is Assistant Producer, NDTV)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author

2008 Olympic bronze medalist boxer Vijender Singh has expressed his shock and disappointment after it was announced that wrestler Vinesh Phogat will not be given a Paris Olympics 2024 silver medal, despite her appeal. On Wednesday, Vinesh’s appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) for a joint silver medal was dismissed, with an operative order being announced two days before the extended deadline of August 16. Upon hearing the news, Vijender admitted that he had been expecting a silver medal announcement instead.

“I was waiting for when the silver medal will be announced,” Vijender told ANI. “Now that I’ve come to know of the news, it is one that saddens me. I am not happy with the decision,” he continued.

#WATCH | Delhi: On Vinesh Phogat’s application dismissed by CAS | Boxer Vijender Singh says, “This is a very sad and unfortunate thing for us…We could have won gold in the Olympics if she had made it through the finals. We are standing with Vinesh and will always support… pic.twitter.com/lU7f46gfGc

— ANI (@ANI) August 14, 2024

Vinesh was disqualified from 50kg freestyle category at the Paris Olympics, after she weighed in 100gm more than the limit on the second day, thereby, not being allowed to participate in the final. The day prior, Vinesh had won three successive bouts to enter the gold medal clash.

Vijender had been one among several renowned athletes to stand beside Vinesh, and reiterated his solidarity. “This is a very unfortunate news for the athlete and for the nation, that we could’ve won a gold had this not happened,” he said. “I’d tweeted before that I’m standing alongside Vinesh, and I will continue to do so. Whatever her story is, I will be there alongside her,” he added.

Vinesh and her team had appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to be granted a joint silver medal. She had been represented in the case by a team of French lawyers, as well as Indian lawyers led by the renowned Harish Salve.

A decision had been earlier expected by August 13, but the deadline had been extended to August 16. However, the operative order has come earlier.

The Paris Olympics 2024 not only saw some stunning performances, but it was also the stage of several conflicts and controversies. Some of them saw a change in the result, some saw medals being stripped, some saw athletes being sent home, and some raged on as debates on social and world media. From Vinesh Phogat to Imane Khelif, we take a look at the big controversies at the Summer Games, as the Paris Olympics 2024 draws to a close

Gender row surrounding Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif and Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting both clinched gold in their respective categories, but not before widespread controversy. With both athletes containing XY chromosomes in their bodies, accusations of them being “male” were rife all across social media. Khelif and Lin had both been disqualified from the 2023 Boxing World Championships, but the IOC had allowed them to compete.

Despite both being born biologically female, Khelif and Lin faced a barrage of incorrect accusations and vitriol, before responding back with gold medals each.

Vinesh Phogat’s disqualification

An event that will shake the Indian sporting culture for quite some time, Vinesh Phogat’s incredible journey to the women’s 57kg freestyle wrestling final was halted as she was disqualified ahead of the final due to being 100 grams overweight. Having been under the weight limit on the first day – when she won her three bouts – she was stripped of her medal and not allowed to play the final.

Vinesh’s case rages on at the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS), where a verdict on whether she will receive a silver medal will be given shortly.

Cocaine controversy for Tom Craig

Australian field hockey player Tom Craig was arrested for attempting to buy cocaine in Paris, along with a 17-year-old seller. However, he was let off with a slap on the wrist; just a warning, with no formal charges against him.

Although Craig apologised for the incident, he was removed from the remaining hockey proceedings by the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) and barred from participating in any further activity in Paris 2024.

Jordan Chiles loses bronze after CAS intervention

American gymnast Jordan Chiles’ coach Cecile Landi had submitted an enquiry to the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) to add 0.1 points to Chiles’ score. This enquiry was initially accepted, promoting Chiles from fifth to a bronze-winning third position.

However, intervention by the CAS led to a decision that Landi’s enquiry was 64 seconds beyond the permitted time, and therefore, stripped her of the medal.

Swimmer Luana Alonso’s ‘Expulsion’

Paraguayan swimmer Luana Alonso had been reportedly asked to leave their camp due to ‘inappropriate’ behaviour. However, Alonso later denied the reports, stating that she had not been removed. The swimmer – who failed to make the semi-final of the women’s 100m butterfly event – made further headlines by stating that she had received a ‘DM’ from Brazilian footballer Neymar.

The boxing competition at the Paris Olympics is over but the fight now starts for its inclusion at the 2028 LA Games after a damaging gender controversy placed the sport under renewed scrutiny. Boxing is a staple of the modern Olympics, making its debut in 1904 and contested at every Games since, apart from in 1912. Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, Floyd Mayweather and Lennox Lewis, to name just a few, all started out at the Olympics. Boxing at the Paris Games took place in mostly packed houses. And yet when the Los Angeles Olympics comes around four years from now, it is not certain that it will be on the programme.

That was even before a gender eligibility row broke out in the French capital, overshadowing the action in the ring and only adding to the scrutiny of the sport and how it is run.

“I think it has hurt Olympic boxing at a crucial time where its future is still being discussed,” Steve Bunce, a veteran British boxing journalist, said on the BBC.

“It’s an absolute disaster.”

Spencer Oliver, a British former boxer who was in the French capital as a radio pundit, agrees.

“It’s just a mess because boxing comes into the spotlight again,” Oliver told AFP.

“But it’s for the wrong reason.”

At the heart of boxing’s problems is a protracted and open dispute between the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Russian-led International Boxing Association.

Boxing at the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Games in 2021 went ahead only after the IOC stepped in to run it and the IOC again organised the sport in Paris, having effectively frozen the IBA out of the Olympic movement.

IOC president Thomas Bach has warned that boxing’s national federations need to find a new and “reliable” international partner for the IOC to be sure the sport features on the programme for 2028.

Bach said on Friday that the IOC would take the decision on its inclusion in the first half of 2025. 

The clock is ticking.

The IBA’s main contribution in Paris was to stage a chaotic press conference that was intended to clarify why it disqualified Algeria’s Imane Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting from its world championships last year.

IBA president Umar Kremlev, a Kremlin-linked oligarch, claimed that the two fighters had “genetic testing that shows that these are men”.

The IOC cleared them to compete and expressed doubts about the IBA’s testing and motivations.

Khelif won gold on Friday and afterwards declared that “I am a woman like any other”.

“They hate me and I don’t know why,” she said of the IBA.

“I sent them a message with this medal.”

Taiwanese sports officials have threatened legal action against the IBA. Lin also won gold in her weight category.

Those within the sport say that excluding boxing from the Olympics would have multiple repercussions.

Ireland’s Kellie Harrington, who retained her title in Paris, fears that countries will pull funding for their boxing programmes if there is no Olympics to aim for.

“So that would be a crying shame. I think everybody needs to do a little bit more to keep it there,” she told Britain’s Sun newspaper.

Oliver noted how many of Britain’s best professional boxers, including former heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua, had used the Olympics as a springboard to success.

“The Olympics made Joshua,” he said.

“The Olympics are great for the boxers because they get recognised and it’s the grassroots for them.

“And then they can go on and earn a lot of money, so it’s life-changing.”

Despite what he calls “an absolute mess” in the governance of the sport, Oliver says it is unthinkable that boxing would not be at the Olympics.

“I think the Olympics without boxing would be a shame. It would be very, very sad,” said Oliver.

“So I’m hoping that they can sort out all the politics that go on behind the scenes, and boxing continues.

“I’m sure it will do.”

From a colourful, sometimes controversial opening ceremony to boxers caught up in a gender row to respectful bows on the gymnastics podium, the 2024 Olympics served up many memorable moments. Here’s a look at the top 10 best moments of Paris Olympics 2024:

Rain on opening ceremony parade

Organisers promised a spectacular opening ceremony and the rain-soaked boat parade on the River Seine ended up making global headlines, but not for the expected reasons.

Church leaders, conservatives and even US presidential candidate Donald Trump were left outraged by a scene involving drag queens and lesbian DJ Barbara Butch that appeared to parody Jesus’s Last Supper.

Artistic director Thomas Jolly denied any such intention. He and others involved ended up facing vicious online harassment that led to police complaints.

Djokovic’s roar of approval

Novak Djokovic stunned Carlos Alcaraz in a memorable men’s final to clinch tennis gold and become only the fifth player to complete the Golden Slam of all four majors plus Olympic gold.

The 37-year-old celebrated with a roar which echoed around Roland Garros before the tearful Serb clambered into the player’s box to embrace his wife Jelena and two children.

“There is no greater inspiration than representing your country,” said the 24-time Grand Slam title winner.

Alcaraz was also in tears, claiming he “had let Spain down”.

Biles bows to ‘queen’ Andrade

Simone Biles may have been the star of the show but she was widely praised for bowing to her arch-rival Rebeca Andrade on the podium.

Biles said it was “just the right thing to do” after she and team-mate Jordan Chiles finished in silver and bronze medal position respectively behind the Brazilian in the floor final.

“Rebeca’s so amazing, she’s queen,” said Biles.

Romanian Ana Barbosu was later awarded the bronze medal after the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that Chiles should not have been upgraded from her initial fifth-place finish.

Lyles just in time

World champion Noah Lyles roared to victory in 9.79sec to claim gold in a dramatic men’s Olympic 100m final in the closest finish in modern history — just five thousandths of a second separated him from Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson.

“I’m the man amongst all of them. I’m the wolf amongst wolves,” said Lyles whose victory was only confirmed after a photo-finish.

Not cricket as Pakistan top India at javelin

Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem won the men’s javelin title, his country’s first individual gold at an Olympics, with a Games record of 92.97m.

In second place was India’s defending champion Neeraj Chopra.

“Rivalry is there when it comes to cricket matches, other sports, the two countries have a rivalry, but it’s a good thing for the young people in both countries to watch our sport and follow us. It’s a positive thing for both countries,” said Nadeem.

North-South Korea podium selfie goes viral

Images of Olympic table tennis players from North Korea and South Korea taking a selfie together on the medal podium went viral in South Korea, hailed as a rare show of cross-border unity.

After South Korea won bronze and North Korea silver in the mixed doubles behind China, South Korea’s Lim Jong-hoon took a group photo after the medal ceremony.

North Korea’s Ri Jong Sik and Kim Kum Yong, the South’s Shin Yu-bin and the victorious Chinese team Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha all beamed into Lim’s phone, a South Korean-made Samsung.

“A selfie with both Koreas’ national flags and a Samsung phone,” said the widely read daily JongAng Ilbo.

Dreams come Trew

Australian skateboarding sensation Arisa Trew, just 14, won the women’s park event to become her country’s youngest ever gold medallist.

Trew nailed a high-risk and high-speed final round in her trademark pink helmet, bringing the crowd to their feet at a sun-drenched Place de la Concorde.

The event also featured 11-year-old Zheng Haohao, the youngest athlete ever to represent China at the Olympics.

“Skateboarding in the Olympic Games isn’t much different from skateboarding in my neighbourhood. It’s just more spectators,” she told reporters.

Gender-row boxer beats ‘bullying’

On a raucous night at Roland Garros, the storied home of the French Open, Algerian gender-row boxer Imane Khelif claimed gold and used her platform to hit back at “attacks” and “bullying” before defiantly declaring “I am a woman like any other.”

Together with Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, who also fought in Paris, Khelif was disqualified from last year’s world championships after they failed gender eligibility tests.

However they were cleared to compete in Paris, setting the stage for one of the biggest controversies of the Games.

“I am fully qualified to take part, I am a woman like any other. I was born a woman, lived a woman and competed as a woman,” said the 25-year-old.

High five for Cuban wrestler

Cuban wrestler Mijain Lopez made Olympic history when he became the first athlete to win five consecutive individual golds in the same event, bettering the records of Games icons such as Carl Lewis and Michael Phelps.

The soon-to-be 42-year-old then placed his shoes in the centre of the mat to signify his intention to retire.

“Wrestling has been the love of my life, for all of my life,” he said.

Cool hand Yusuf

Turkish Olympic shooting silver medallist Yusuf Dikec became an overnight sensation for his casual style during competition.

His eye-catching posture saw the marksman wearing standard glasses, a team T-shirt and with his left hand casually tucked in his pocket.

Other than his pistol, he notably had none of the specialised equipment used by athletes in the hyper-precise event, like headphones, special lenses or a hat.

“The name’s Dikec. Yusuf Dikec,” said a social media post in reference to cinema icon James Bond.

File photo of Imane Khelif.© AFP

International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach on Friday said that women must be encouraged to take part in women’s events at the Olympics. Bach’s response comes amid controversy surrounding Algerian boxer Imane Khalif, a boxer who had failed gender eligibility and testosterone tests and has reached the gold medal round in the women’s 66 kg boxing at the ongoing marquee event. Speaking at the press conference, Bach said that women should be allowed to be a part of womens’ events and also talked about how the boxing does not use sex tests anymore due to human rights reasons.

“We had so-called sex tests until 1999, and then science told us that they were not reliable anymore, that it does not work as they used to work with regard to the chromosomes and other measurements. We were also told that these kinds of tests are and can be against human rights because they are too intrusive. Then the new system was developed in great agreement with everybody. And I think this is since 1999 or 2000 that this system has been working. Therefore, our decision is very clear. Women must be allowed to take part in women’s-competitions,” said Bach.

Khalif will be competing for a gold medal in the final of the women’s 66 kg boxing at the ongoing Paris Olympics.

Khalif, who was banned from competing in world championships following failures in testosterone and gender eligibility tests, achieved a controversial win over Italy’s Angela Carini within just 46 seconds after her opponent quit in the opening round.

Now in the semifinals, she defeated Janjaem Suwannapheng of Thailand by 5-0, via win by points.

Imane will be battling China’s Yang Liu for the top prize on August 10.

The win over Carini drew adverse comments from many prominent people like JK Rowling and Elon Musk who took to social media questioning the gender of Khelif.

Just before her gold medal bout in the International Boxing Association (IBA) Women’s Championships held in New Delhi last year, Khelif was disqualified as she had failed to meet IBA’s eligibility criteria. She was not allowed to compete due to elevated testosterone levels, as per ESPN.

But she was allowed to compete in the Paris Olympics by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) task force, which is running past two Olympic boxing events as IBA has been banned from the past two years from the Olympics due to governance issues, lack of financial transparency and instances of corruption in judging and refereeing.

IOC defended the rights of Khelif and Lin Yu-ting, another boxer under scrutiny due to failing an unspecified eligibility requirement in a biochemical test, to compete in the Olympics.

Replying to the controversy, the IOC said on Thursday in a statement, “All athletes participating in the boxing tournament of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 comply with the competition’s eligibility and entry regulations, as well as all applicable medical regulations set by the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit (PBU). As with previous Olympic boxing competitions, the gender and age of the athletes are based on their passports.”

“These rules also applied during the qualification period, including the boxing tournaments of the 2023 European Games, Asian Games, Pan American Games and Pacific Games, the ad hoc 2023 African qualifying tournament in Dakar (SEN) and two world qualifying tournaments held in Busto Arsizio (ITA) and Bangkok (THA) in 2024, which involved a total of 1,471 different boxers from 172 National Olympic Committees (NOCs), the Boxing Refugee Team and Individual Neutral Athletes, and featured over 2,000 qualification bouts,” the IOC statement read.

The IOC said that the athletes in question had been subjects of an arbitrary decision by the International Boxing Association earlier.

“We have seen in reports misleading information about two female athletes competing at the Olympic Games Paris 2024. The two athletes have been competing in international boxing competitions for many years in the women’s category, including the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, International Boxing Association (IBA) World Championships and IBA-sanctioned tournaments. These two athletes were the victims of a sudden and arbitrary decision by the IBA. Towards the end of the IBA World Championships in 2023, they were suddenly disqualified without any due process,” the IOC said.

“According to the IBA minutes available on their website, this decision was initially taken solely by the IBA Secretary General and CEO. The IBA Board only ratified it afterwards and only subsequently requested that a procedure to follow in similar cases in the future be established and reflected in the IBA regulations. The minutes also say that the IBA should “establish a clear procedure on gender testing. The current aggression against these two athletes is based entirely on this arbitrary decision, which was taken without any proper procedure – especially considering that these athletes had been competing in top-level competition for many years. Such an approach is contrary to good governance,” the IOC added.

The IOC said it was committed to protecting the human rights of all athletes participating in the Olympic Games as per the Olympic Charter, the IOC Code of Ethics and the IOC Strategic Framework on Human Rights. The IOC further said it was saddened by the abuse that the two athletes are currently receiving, the release added.

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, at the centre of an Olympic gender eligibility row, goes for gold in Paris on Friday as Thierry Henry bids to lead France’s footballers to glory. With just three days of sport to go at the Games, there is a packed athletics programme at the Stade de France. The boxing competition has been overshadowed by a bitter row over whether Khelif and Taiwanese fighter Lin Yu-ting should be allowed to compete in the women’s category. 

Khelif and Lin were disqualified from last year’s world championships by the International Boxing Association (IBA) after failing unspecified gender eligibility tests but she and Lin were cleared to compete in Paris.

The International Olympic Committee is running the boxing in the French capital, which is being held at Roland Garros, the home of French tennis.

The 25-year-old Khelif and Lin both fought at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago but there was no controversy at the time and neither won a medal.

On Friday, Algeria’s Khelif takes on China’s Yang Liu in the 66kg final while Lin is in action on Saturday in a different weight category.

Cries of “Imane, Imane” rang out repeatedly before and during Khelif’s semi-final bout on Tuesday as the crowd voiced their support for the boxer.

“I am like all athletes, I am here to achieve my dream,” she said.

The penultimate evening of track and field action features the men’s and women’s 4x100m relays, the men’s 400m hurdles, the women’s 400m and the final event of the heptathlon, the 800m.

US sprint star Noah Lyles was tipped for a sprint treble in Paris after winning the 100m earlier this week but he could only collect bronze in his favoured 200m on Thursday.

Minutes after the race, won by Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo, Lyles revealed he had tested positive for Covid, saying the disease had “taken its toll”.

The American later posted on social media that his Games were likely over, but the US remain favourites to take gold in the sprint relay.

In Friday’s women’s 10,000m final, Dutch runner Sifan Hassan will attempt to defend her crown after coming up short in her bid for a historic long-distance treble.

Defending champion and world record-holder Karsten Warholm is favourite to defend his title in the men’s 400m hurdles.

Henry ‘goosebumps’

Henry’s France take on Spain in the men’s football final at the Parc des Princes.

Henry, one of France’s all-time great players, has led his country to the brink of their second football gold, 40 years after they won the title in Los Angeles.

They have conceded just a single goal in five matches and Henry admits he does not want his Olympic dream to end.

“I think it’s going to be difficult waking up,” he said. “Every night I watch and get goosebumps when I see guys win.”

Spain came from behind to beat Morocco 2-1 in their semi-final in Marseille in front of a hostile crowd, which will give them confidence that they can handle the pressure in the French capital.

“It’s another atmosphere that I will like,” said Fermin Lopez, who has scored four goals at the Olympics after helping Spain win Euro 2024.

“In any situation we can overcome anything. Now we want to get the gold.”

In diving, China are targeting gold in the women’s 3m springboard as they close in on clean sweep in Paris, with victories in all six events so far.

Defending champions the Netherlands take on China in the women’s hockey final, chasing their fourth title in five Games after the Dutch men’s team won gold.

History will be made when the first Olympics medals are won in the breaking competition staged at La Concorde.