In the evening of August 5, on the morning of August 5 in Vietnam, the International Boxing Association (IBA) offered evidence. They proved that the IMane Khelif (Algeria) and Lin Yu Ting (Taipei China) were male according to current regulations. Here are some notable information published by IBA.
Imane Khelif has been playing in the IBA tournament since 2018, and Lin Yu Ting is since 2017. IBA's current executive committee has been consolidated only in December 2020, and the first tournament they organized was the World Women's Boxing Championship 2022. IBA did not comment on the executive committee in the previous period, because many officials were banned by IBA itself later.
IMane Khelif and Lin Yu Ting were not banned from playing because of the high level of male hormone surpassing the threshold. They are banned because they are male chromosomes. The sex test decision of the iMane Khelif and Lin Yu Ting was given after there were too many opinions from the coach and athletes of countries in the period 2022-2023.
On May 17, 2022, IBA took the first blood sampling for the sex test of both. The lab in Istanbul reported the results on 24/5/2022, after the World Women's Boxing Championship 2022 ended. The results showed that both boxers had male chromosomes, which were not consistent with the criteria for attending women's boxing in the tournament organized by IBA.
At the World Women's Boxing Championship 2022, Imane Khelif won the gold medal, and Lin Yu Ting won the gold medal. But at that time, they were not deprived of the medal. According to IBA, this decision was made by the only one -time test that was not enough to conclude. Confusion is entirely possible. The lawyers advise IBA to be cautious and contact the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to discuss this case.
IBA then informed the representative of the IOC on the case of the two boxers, but did not receive any response. After receiving more advice, IBA continued to conduct a second test.
At the World Women's Boxing Championship 2023 (held in New Delhi, India), IMane Khelif and Lin Yu Ting agreed to take samples of sex tests before the first match. IBA took their blood samples on March 17, 2023. On March 23, the Lab Department in New Delhi reported the results, with the same conclusion: the two men were men.
On March 24, 2023, the Secretary General and Chief of the IBA Office at that time was Mr. George Yerolimpos informed to the IMane Khelif and Lin Yu Ting boxers. They do not meet the gender standards of athletes participating in the female boxing box. The two received a copy of the test results, and had the right to appeal to the International Sports Arbitration Court within 21 days.
IMane Khelif and Lin Yu Ting both know about the test results. They even signed the confirmation. On March 26, 2023, the majority of the IBA Executive Committee voted the decision of the Secretary -General and the Chief of the IBA Office, disqualified the two athletes from the World Women's Boxing Championship 2023.
IBA is aware of the test results and the details of the case that can seriously affect the lives of both martial artists. In addition, this is also a personal information that needs to be protected, and IBA does not want to be published unless the athletes agree. However, the iMane Khelif and Lin Yu Ting both received a copy of the test results.
Both boxers know IBA's test results are real, not fake. They have the right to appeal, but Lin Yu Ting decided not to use this right. The case of IMane Khelif and Lin Yu Ting also caused IBA to amend some of the rules of gender for athletes.
In the case of iMane Khelif, at the time the boxer made an appeal to the International Sports Arbitration Court, a part of the cost of appeal was taken care of by IBA himself. However, IMane Khelif did not pay the rest, so he was finally rejected by the International Sports Arbitration Court. The Khelif side then actively contacted IBA for further exchange.
According to the current IBA regulations, the gender of the athletes is prescribed by chromosomes. Only athletes of the same gender can fight each other. IBA can check randomly. In the event that athletes have a different gender from the original registration, they will receive a notice and be disqualified immediately.
The Imane Khelif side sent to IBA a number of health documents to prove that she was a female. On March 23, 2024, the IBA Health Committee made an official report on Khelif's case. On April 12, IBA informed Khelif: IBA's Health Committee once again confirmed that Khelif was male, so he could not attend women's tournaments organized by IBA.
IBA said they did not want to comment on the personal life of others. They also do not care about the iMane Khelif and Lin Yu Ting think they are male or female, or their gender on the passport (as notified IOC). IBA is based on scientific base, and is really a sex hormone imbalance that can help the two boxers have many advantages in female boxing competition.
According to IBA, it is dangerous for martial artists to be similar to men like iMane Khelif and Lin Yu Ting, which is dangerous for other female athletes. In addition, there is a lot of information that IOC has lied about that they did not receive any notice from IBA about the case of these two boxers. Therefore, IBA must post all information of the incident, as a way to protect itself against international media.