A couple of days after two boxers — Algeria’s Imane Khelif and Taiwan’s double world champion Lin Yu-ting — found themselves in the middle of a raging gender dispute, International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach on Saturday defended the decision to allow the duo to take part in the ongoing Paris Olympics, and stated that “there was never any doubt about them being women.”

Lin Yu-Ting and Image Khelif’s qualification for the Paris Olympics 2024 by the IOC came under scrutiny despite being disqualified at the 2023 World Championships in New Delhi after failing the International Boxing Association (IBA) eligibility rules that prevent athletes with male XY chromosomes competing in women’s events.

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The IOC last year stripped the IBA of its status as boxing’s governing body over governance issues, and took charge of the Paris 2024 boxing competition.

“We are talking about women’s boxing. We have two boxers who were born as women, raised as women, who have passports as women and who have competed for many years as women and this is a clear definition of a woman,” Bach said.

“There was never any doubt about them being women.”

The IOC president said that the committee would not be associated with a “politically motivated cultural war”. He also condemned the hate that was being spread across the internet against the boxers.

“We will not take part in a politically motivated, sometimes politically motivated cultural war. And allow me to say that what is going on in this context, in the social media with all this hate speech, with this aggression and abuse, and fuelled by this agenda, is totally unacceptable.”

The participation of the boxers has caused a furore in social media after people like J. K. Rowling and Elon Musk voicing their opposition to them competing in the Games.

Khelif outpunched Angela Carini in the round of 16 of their welterweight bout on Thursday before the Italian stopped after 46 seconds, with the Algerian’s dominant performance further fanning the debate.

The IBA on Friday promised to pay the defeated athlete $50,000 in prize money.

Boxing to continue in Olympics

Emphasising on the formation of a new global body to govern the sport, Bach said the IOC wanted to keep boxing in the Olympics given the social role it plays, especially for underprivileged parts of society.

“Very clearly yes,” he said when asked if he wanted to see boxing in future Olympics.

“Boxing is one of the most global sports, a sport with very high social values. In any country many boxers tend to come from underprivileged parts of society and boxing offers them many opportunities not only on the field of play but also off the field of play.”

He said that was also true for women and Khelif was proof of that.

“This why it is even more deplorable with what is happening with Imane on social media. Because she has made it very clear that she is standing for the rights of women in her country and boxing gives the opportunity to express herself and gives her the confidence to do so,” Bach said.

IBA’s defamation campaign

The IOC president said that the International Boxing Association (IBA), led by Umar Kremlev, a Russian businessman, resorted to a defamation campaign against France, against the Games and the IOC after the former’s recognition was withdrawn.

“What we have seen from the Russian side and in particular from international federation from which we had to withdraw the recognition, that they have undertaken way before these Games a defamation campaign against France, against the Games, against the IOC,” Bach said.

“They have made a number of comments in this respect which I don’t want to repeat.”

“I would ask everybody to respect these women, to respect them as women and as human beings. When you speak about human rights then you have the human right of every

woman to participate in a women’s competition,” Bach said.