Algerian and Olympic boxing gold medalist, Imane Khelif has declared she is “not going anywhere” after the International Boxing Association (IBA) launched legal action against the International Olympic Committee (IOC) over her eligibility.
On Monday, the IBA filed a complaint with the Swiss Attorney General, citing safety concerns regarding gender eligibility.
Khelif, a World Championship silver medallist who competed at Tokyo 2020, has consistently maintained that she meets the criteria for women’s competitions. In a rare social media statement, the 25-year-old Algerian fighter denounced the IBA’s allegations as “baseless, false, and offensive.”
“For two years, I have taken the high road while my name and image have been used, unauthorized, to further personal and political agendas through the spreading of baseless lies and misinformation,” Khelif wrote.
“But silence is no longer an option. I am not going anywhere. I will fight in the ring, I will fight in the courts, and I will fight in the public eye until the truth is undeniable.”
Khelif won women’s welterweight gold at the Paris Olympics, a year after being disqualified from the IBA World Championships for allegedly failing gender eligibility tests.
The Russian-led IBA, which was later stripped of its status as boxing’s world governing body by the IOC, claimed Khelif “failed to meet the eligibility criteria for women’s competitions.”
However, the IOC questioned the credibility of the IBA’s tests and cleared Khelif to compete in Paris. Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, another boxer previously banned by the IBA, was also allowed to fight at the Olympics.
The pair’s victories sparked global scrutiny and fueled ongoing debates over eligibility rules in boxing. Khelif has announced that her team is reviewing the situation and preparing to take legal action to defend her rights.
Meanwhile, the IOC dismissed the IBA’s complaint as “just another example of the IBA’s campaign against the IOC.” Switzerland’s Attorney General’s office confirmed it had received the IBA’s complaint, but no further details have been provided.
