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PARIS — The gender tests conducted by the International Boxing Association (IBA) on two female fighters at last year’s world championships that led to their disqualification were illegitimate and lacked credibility, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Sunday.

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif and Taiwan’s double world champion Lin Yu-ting were cleared to compete at the Paris Olympics despite having been disqualified during the 2023 World Championships after the IBA said they had failed a gender eligibility test.

The IOC said the testing process at that event, which came only toward the end of the competition after the boxers had already fought several bouts, was completely arbitrary.

“Those tests are not legitimate tests. The tests themselves, the process of the tests, the ad hoc nature of the tests are not legitimate,” IOC spokesperson Mark Adams told a press conference.

“The testing, the method of the testing, the idea of the testing which happened kind of overnight. None of it is legitimate, and this does not deserve any response,” Adams said.

The IOC last year stripped the IBA of its status as boxing’s governing body over governance and finance issues, taking charge of the Paris Games boxing competition and applying eligibility rules from the 2016 and 2021 Olympics.

Khelif’s dominance in Thursday’s Round of 16 welterweight fight against Angela Carini, who withdrew after 46 seconds following a barrage of punches from the Algerian, triggered a furor that swept social media.

The IBA on Friday promised to pay Italy’s Carini $50,000 in prize money, further fanning the ongoing dispute with the IOC.

SEMIFINAL RUNS

Both Khelif and Lin have now reached the semifinals in their weight categories in Paris.

Lin beat Svetlana Kamenova Staneva of Bulgaria by a unanimous decision in a featherweight quarterfinal fight on Sunday to ensure Taiwan’s third boxing medal at the Paris Olympics.

“I know all of Taiwan’s people are standing behind me and supporting me, and I will carry this energy to the end,” Lin said after her win.

“I received a lot of supporting messages. I did not read them because I shut down my social media platforms.”

Lin opted to sit back and try to strike from range. She was also warned for elbowing by the referee early on and twice fell to the canvas after appearing to be tripped by Staneva.

“You could see that the representative of Taiwan did not want to fight. She was running all the time, she was playing dirty as hell, the very first round was for an official warning for an elbow,” Bulgarian boxing coach Borislav Georgiev said.

“And these circus acts, when she fell … In general I am indignant at the funfair that is taking place. They have decided to make them champions, and that’s it.”

The Paris Boxing Unit (PBU), an ad-hoc unit established by the IOC’s Executive Board to organize the boxing competition, said it stood by its referees and judges.

“We have confidence in the selection process for referees and judges officiating at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, which was based on multi-steps, involving the vetting of officials, performance criteria, and a random draw,” it added.

–Reuters, Special to Field Level Media