Imane Khelif Gender Row: Leaked Dr Lal Path Lab Report Claims Boxer Having Male Chromosomes; Check Details
Fresh controversy has erupted around Algerian Olympic gold medalist Imane Khelif after newly leaked lab documents suggest that the boxer is biologically male. According to The Telegraph report Khelif the 26-year-old was found to have male XY chromosomes in a 2023 following the test conducted by Dr. Lal Path Labs in New Delhi, India.
According to a report the lab in question is accredited by the American College of Pathologists and the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO),
The alleged test resulted in Khelif getting suspended from the 2023 Women's Boxing World Championship in India. However, the situation took a dramatic turn when Khelif was later cleared to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics, where she secured a gold medal in the women’s division. Olympic officials ultimately dismissed the Indian test, citing concerns over its legitimacy and raising the possibility of Russian interference
Imane Khelif, now 26, has firmly denied the claims. “I was raised as a girl. I’ve always been a girl and identify as a woman,” she said, rejecting the lab results
Italian boxer Angela Carini, who lost to Khelif in a high-speed 46-second bout during the Olympics, voiced serious concerns: “I feared for my life during that fight,” she said.
Mexican fighter Brianda Tamara Cruz, who competed against Khelif in 2022, offered similar reflections. “In my 13 years of boxing, not even sparring with men felt like that,” she stated.
What's next for Image Khelif?
The 26-year-old had woved to win Olympic gold medal in Los Angeles in 2028, however World Boxing has ruled that Khelif is ineligible to enter future events as a woman without first submitting to the same chromosome testing that has already triggered the boxer’s disqualification at global level.
The report further states that the governing body, provisionally approved to run Olympic boxing in LA, has announced that all athletes in its competitions over 18 years old must undergo a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) genetic test to determine their sex.
The test detects chromosomal material through a mouth swab, saliva or blood.
news