French Boxers Out of World Cup Due to Gender Tests
Paris – The World Boxing Championship, which begins this Thursday in England, will be deprived of the participation of five French boxers due to complications with the new mandatory gender tests. The French team expressed their “astonishment and indignation” at not being able to compete, after missing the deadline to submit the results of the tests carried out in England. These tests are prohibited in France in this sporting context, due to a law that protects the privacy of women. The World Boxing Federation announced its mandatory testing policy on May 30, in response to the controversy that arose at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where Imane Khelif of Algeria and Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan won gold medals, raising doubts about their eligibility. Boxers must undergo a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test or an equivalent genetic test to determine their sex at birth. The new boxing governing body, which was not involved in the Paris Olympics and was provisionally recognized by the IOC in February, suggested that the French federation was responsible for failing to meet the deadline prior to the world championships in Liverpool.The French Boxing Federation stated that they were informed that the results would be available “in 24 hours and that, therefore, we could present them without fail when registering our female boxers”. The excluded boxers are Romane Moulai, Wassila Lkhadiri, Melissa Bounoua, Sthélyne Grosy and Maëlys Richol. Maëlys Richol shared a message on her Instagram page from Estelle Mossely, former candidate to lead the French Boxing Federation, asking for the resignation of those responsible. Khelif will also not compete in Liverpool after failing to obtain an urgent provisional resolution from the Court of Arbitration for Sport in his wider appeal against the World Boxing Federation’s testing mandate.It is very disappointing for female boxers that some national federations have not been able to complete this process on time.
World Boxing Federation
