The International Olympic Committee have defended their decision to allow two boxers who previously failed a gender test to compete at the summer Games in Paris. The boxing action on Thursday was clouded by controversy after Algeria's Imane Khelif, disqualified from last year's World Championships after being deemed 'biologically male', beat Angela Carini in just 46 seconds.

The Italian took a heavy blow in the opening exchanges before returning to her corner to have a headgear readjusted.

But just moments later, she opted to quit, and was tearful as she refused to shake Khalif's hand.

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Like Kelif, Algerian boxer Yu-ting, who was also disqualified from the New Delhi competition last year, is also permitted to fight and begins her campaign on Friday. But the IOC have now labelled those decisions "discrimination," and have hit back at criticism of their eligibility criteria.

"Every person has the right to practise sport without discrimination," they said. "All athletes participating in the boxing tournament of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 comply with the competition’s eligibility and entry regulations, as well as all applicable medical regulations set by the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit (PBU). 

The authority added "the gender and age of the athletes are based on their passport," and clarified that both athletes had previously competed in Tokyo. "We have seen in reports misleading information about two female athletes competing at the Olympic Games Paris 2024," they added.

"The two athletes have been competing in international boxing competitions for many years in the women’s category, including the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, International Boxing Association (IBA) World Championships and IBA-sanctioned tournaments."

Referencing the ban imposed by the IBA, and the "agression" shown towards the fighters, the IOC said: "These two athletes were the victims of a sudden and arbitrary decision by the IBA. Towards the end of the IBA World Championships in 2023, they were suddenly disqualified without any due process."

Khelif, a former African champion, competed at lightweight level in Japan three years ago. But she was defeated by Ireland's Kellie Harrington in the quarter-finals.

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