Gender Controversy at Paris Olympics: Athletes' Right to Compete Defended

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has defended the participation of two athletes in women's boxing at the Paris Olympics despite their previous disqualification for gender eligibility issues. Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan and Imane Khelif of Algeria failed gender tests last year but are now deemed eligible under IOC rules.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has stood by its decision to allow two athletes to compete in women's boxing at the Paris Olympics, despite their previous disqualification due to gender eligibility issues at the 2023 World Championships.

Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan, a two-time world champion, and Imane Khelif of Algeria, a quarterfinalist at the Tokyo Olympics, have both been confirmed as eligible under the IOC's competition rules, which are based on the regulations from the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

Despite the criticism from former athletes and the previous intervention by the International Boxing Association (IBA), the IOC maintains that both Lin and Khelif are recognized as female in their passports and have complied with the federation's rules. The IOC has urged experts to assess gender eligibility on a sport-by-sport basis.

(With inputs from agencies.)