Olympic champ Imane Khelif skips Eindhoven event after World Boxing introduces mandatory sex testing
Eindhoven (Netherlands) (AP): Olympic champion Imane Khelif is skipping the Eindhoven Box Cup in the Netherlands less than a week after World Boxing announced mandatory sex testing for all athletes.
The Algerian boxer, who won gold at the Paris Games last summer amid scrutiny over her eligibility, did not register in time for the event before applications closed on Thursday.
“The decision of Imane's exclusion is not ours. We regret it,” tournament media director Dirk Renders told The Associated Press.
The 26-year-old Khelif had intended to return to international competition at the Eindhoven tournament this weekend before World Boxing announced its new sex testing policy last Friday. The governing body specifically mentioned Khelif, saying she'd have to screened to be approved to fight at any upcoming events, including the Eindhoven Box Cup.
Eindhoven mayor Jeroen Dijsselbloem criticized World Boxing's decision.
“As far as we are concerned, all athletes are welcome in Eindhoven. Excluding athletes based on controversial gender tests' certainly does not fit in with that,” Dijsselbloem wrote in a letter addressed to the Dutch Boxing Federation and International Boxing Federation. “We are expressing our disapproval of this decision today and are calling on the organization to admit Imane Khelif after all.”
Khelif won a gold medal at the Paris Olympics last summer amid international scrutiny on her and Taiwan's Lin Yu-ting, another gold medal winner. The previous governing body for Olympic boxing, the Russian-dominated International Boxing Association, had disqualified both fighters from its 2023 world championships after claiming they failed unspecified eligibility tests.
But the IBA was banished for decades of misdeeds and controversy. The IOC ran the past two Olympic boxing tournaments in its place and it applied the sex eligibility rules used in previous Olympics. Khelif and Lin were eligible to compete under those standards.
World Boxing has since been provisionally approved as the boxing organizer at the 2028 Los Angeles Games and has faced pressure from boxers and their federations to create sex eligibility standards.
Its president, Boris van der Vorst, apologized after Khelif was singled out in the governing body's announcement last week.
Khelif planned to defend her welterweight gold medal at the LA Games, but some boxers and their federations have already spoken out against her inclusion.
Khelif won gold at the Eindhoven event last year, defeating Australia's Marissa Williamson-Pohlman in the final — in a warmup to the Paris Olympics.
The Algerian also competed at the Tokyo Games in 2021 — in the lightweight division, losing in the quarterfinals to eventual gold medalist Kellie Harrington of Ireland.
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Congress committed to social justice, says Karnataka CM; hits out at JD(S), BJP
BJP Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday asserted that the Congress remains firmly committed to social justice, both in principle and practice.
"The Congress is a party committed to social justice. This ideological commitment has been demonstrated not merely through words but through action," the CM said in a statement, underlining that the party has consistently translated its philosophy into governance.
He said his recent article marking Social Justice Day has sparked debate.
Defending the piece, he said: "An article I wrote for a newspaper as part of Social Justice Day celebrations has sparked multifaceted debate in the state’s political circles. If water remains stagnant, it turns into slush; if it flows, it becomes clearer."
"The social system is similar—if it does not remain rigid and instead becomes dynamic, it transforms in a people-centric manner. From this perspective, I welcome the discussion surrounding my article," he added.
Stating that his commitment to social justice is longstanding, the CM said, "Whether in power or out of it, my stand in favour of social justice has remained unwavering. I have greater clarity about the caste system among us than the politicians criticising me."
"I am prepared for a public debate on this issue," Siddaramaiah added.
Responding to criticism from Union Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) leader H D Kumaraswamy, he said, "I have taken his allegation—that I have ‘dragged caste into the picture for the sake of a chair’—lightly."
Launching a sharp attack on JD(S) patriarch and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda and his family, Siddaramaiah added, "Kumaraswamy and his revered father Deve Gowda are certainly not casteists; they are against their own caste. More importantly, they are family-centric. For them, caste is merely a vote bank."
He alleged that past, present, and future top JD(S) leaders would always be members of the Gowda family, questioning how many Vokkaliga leaders the party had nurtured during Deve Gowda’s long political career.
The CM maintained that it was the Congress that had identified and politically groomed Vokkaliga leaders.
"From Kengal Hanumanthaiah to S M Krishna, hundreds of Vokkaliga leaders have been nurtured. If Kengal Hanumanthaiah, Kadidal Manjappa, and S M Krishna became chief ministers, it was because of the Congress," he said, adding that several prominent Vokkaliga leaders are currently in the party.
"If one day anyone other than a member of Deve Gowda’s family becomes chief minister, it will be through the Congress," he noted.
Highlighting inclusivity, Siddaramaiah said the Congress has enabled leaders from Vokkaliga, Lingayat, and backward communities to become chief ministers in Karnataka, and expressed gratitude to party leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi for giving him a second term.
He added that leaders from the Dalit community who rise to the CM's post do so on merit, not merely caste. "I can confidently say that if someone from the Dalit community becomes chief minister in the future, it will be possible only through the Congress,” he reiterated.
He questioned whether the JD(S) or the BJP in the state is capable of fostering such aspirations. "This is the difference between the Congress, the BJP and JD(S). Therefore, I urge those accusing me of practising caste politics to introspect," the CM said.
