Imane Khelif, an Algerian boxer, dominated Paris Olympics 2024 after she won the gold medal in the women’s 66kg category, despite her eligibility for the Games being questioned by many on social media. Khelif, who has been labelled as a biological man by many, now once again finds herself in hot waters after a leaked medical report confirmed that the boxer, is indeed a man. Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh has also now reacted to the latest development, asking the Olympics organisers to take back the gold medal.
The leaked medical report, which was originally been secured by French journalist Djaffar Ait Aoudia, claims that the boxer has “internal testicles and XY chromosomes.” The medical report also hints at a disorder called 5-alpha reductase insufficiency.
“Take the Gold back @Olympics This isn’t fair,” Harbhajan Singh wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Journalist Piers Morgan also reacted to the report, which is going viral on social media, saying, “Confirmation of what some of us said at the time: Khelif is a biological man. The gold medal should now be stripped and awarded to the best actual woman.”
Medical report causes uproar
The medical report is believed to be drafted by experts from the Kremlin-Bicetre Hospital in Paris and the Mohamed Lamine Debaghine Hospital in Algiers. The said report originally was drafted in June 2023.
The report thoroughly explains Khelif’s biological traits, such as the existence of internal testicles and the lack of a uterus. An MRI report also suggests the presence of a micro penis, as reported by Redux.
For the unversed, Imane Khelif was banned by the International Boxing Association (IBA) in 2023. She was barred from participating in the World Championship Gold Medal fight in New Delhi.
Recently, US Presidential candidate Donald Trump had also used Imane Khelif as an example to criticise the Joe Biden-Kamala Harris administration’s gender-ad sports policy.
Earlier, in response to the gender dispute, Khelif had earlier declared that she is indeed a woman. “I’m a woman like any other woman. I was born as a woman, I live as a woman, and I am qualified.”
She also went on to claim that the entire gender controversy was sparked by former US President Donald Trump, author JK Rowling, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. She also named Rowling and Musk in a criminal complaint over alleged “acts of aggravated cyber harassment”.
