AMATEUR boxing’s world championships have been rocked by a number of women being banned from competing.
Following the Imane Khelif gender scandal around the 2024 Olympics, World Boxing – the new governing body for the global unpaid code – introduced strict gender testing.
Imane Khelif’s 2024 Olympic gold has had lasting impacts on amateur female boxing[/caption]
Khelif won gold in Paris, but her victory was shrouded in controversy[/caption]
But such tests – apart from in serious conditions – have been banned in France since 1994.
The French female fighters could not undergo the procedures until they landed in England, for the Liverpool event that starts on Thursday.
And that delay meant they missed the deadline that World Boxing had imposed, leaving the French Boxing Federation fuming.
But it was not only the French five who lost their place at the inaugural tournament, scheduled to host 540 boxers
In a statement the FFB said: “It is with stupefaction and indignation that the French team learned on Wednesday evening the French women’s boxing team would not be able to compete in the first world championships organised by World Boxing.
“Despite guarantees given to us by World Boxing, the laboratory which they recommended to us was not up to the task of delivering the results on time.
“As a result our athletes as well as those from other countries have been caught in this trap and excluded.”
Maelys Richol, a 65kgs athlete barred from the event, and one of the five boxers affected, added: “After an entire year of work we find ourselves thrown out not for sporting reasons but because of disastrous and unfair management.
“It is extremely tough to absorb.”
World Boxing is a fresh start for the amateur code, after years of corruption allegations against their AIBA predecessors.
And they replied with a statement that explained why their stance is in the best interests of the sport.
The wrote: “Since world boxing first announced its plan to introduce mandatory sex testing to determine the chromosomal sex of a male or female at birth, the organisation has made it clear that testing will be the responsibility of the national federations, as they have the closest links and most access to their boxes and are best placed to manage the testing process.
“They also oversee the entree process for boxers, so know which boxers need to be tested and when.
“It is very disappointing for the boxers that some of the national federations have not been able to complete this process in time, which means that some athletes have not made it through the entry process for the World Boxing Championships.”
A World Boxing official also told AFP: “We are sorry some boxers did not meet the deadline for results of testing but the rules and deadlines were published.”