Olympic champion boxer Khelif challenges gender test at CAS: statement / Photo: MOHD RASFAN - AFP/File
Olympic champion boxer Khelif challenges gender test at CAS: statement
Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, at the centre of a row at the 2024 Paris Olympics, has turned to sport's top court to attempt to overturn the introduction of a gender test, the court said on Monday.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport said in a statement that Khelif was challenging the global boxing federation's decision "that disallows the athlete's participation in upcoming World Boxing events without a preliminary genetic test".
Khelif was one of two boxers who sparked a gender eligibility furore at the Paris Games. The other was Taiwanese fighter Lin Yu-ting, who has been entered to compete at the world championships that start this week in Liverpool.
Both fighters won Olympic gold medals, but Khelif's opening bout, when she left her Italian opponent in tears, sparked criticism from a range of commentators including now-US Vice President JD Vance and "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling.
Khelif last month denied claims made by her former manager that she was putting her career on hold.
"I would like to make it clear to the public that the reports of my retirement from boxing are false," the 26-year-old wrote on Facebook.
She accused her former manager, Nasser Yesfah, of "betraying (her) trust and (her) country with his false and malicious statements".
"This person no longer represents me in any way," she said.
D.Findlay--EWJ
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