The president of the International Boxing Association (IBA), Umar Kremlev, has called for boxer Imane Khelif to return the gold medal won at the 2024 Paris Olympics in women's boxing, citing “sex test" results that question the athlete’s eligibility and gender. Kremlev’s demand follows controversy over Khelif’s biological sex, reigniting the global debate about fairness in the sport and the inclusion of transgender athletes.Khelif, who rose to prominence after a gold medal performance in Paris following a lacklustre showing at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, was previously banned by the IBA in 2022 and 2023 after failing two “sex tests.”According to Kremlev, the tests revealed Khelif possesses both X and Y chromosomes, typically indicative of male biology. .A 2023 World Championships report, recently made public by American journalist Alan Abrahamson and available on the 3 Wire Sports website, supports this claim, describing Khelif’s chromosome analysis as “abnormal” with a “male karyotype (XY).” The tests were conducted by Dr. Lal Path Labs in New Delhi, a facility accredited by the American College of Pathologists and certified by the International Organisation for Standardisation.This debunks the previous claims of International Olympic Committee (IOC) spokesman Mark Adams who, at a news conference at the Paris Olympics, described the results as “ad hoc” and “not legitimate.”Despite the IBA’s ban, the IOC allowed the Algerian to compete at the Paris Olympics causing massive controversy. .Abrahamson reported that the IOC had been warned about Khelif’s test results more than a year before the Games but permitted participation, a decision Kremlev slammed as politically motivated. “The IOC is not fighting for fairness in sport,” Kremlev told the Daily Mail. “They are giving away medals based on their political interests. Imane Khelif should return the Olympic medal from Paris.”Khelif has not publicly responded to the allegations. The IOC and IBA have yet to announce any further actions, leaving the future of Khelif’s gold medal uncertain.
