As transgender fighters Imane Khelif (Algeria) and Lin Yu-Ting (Taiwan) prepare to enter the ring against female fighters later this week, one of Khelif’s former opponents is sounding the alarm over the dangers the men pose.
Mexico’s Brianda Tamara Cruz Sandoval, who fought Khelif in December of 2022, told the Telegraph of the extreme danger she felt after absorbing Khelif’s punches.
“When I fought her, I felt very out of my depth,” Tamara added. “Her blows hurt me a lot. Thank God that day I got out of the ring safely, and it’s good that they finally realized.”
A video of Sandoval’s fight with Khelif reveals the truth of her words. The Mexican fighter seemed to stumble with every punch landed by the Algerian.
This was Imane Khelif fighting in Mexico in December 2022 against a Mexican woman.
— teresa smith (@treesey) July 29, 2024
Three months later, a test apparently revealed the XY chromosome.
Note the force of the punching.
Imane’s opponent that day, @BriandaTamara, said she certainly did:#OlympicGames #Boxing https://t.co/NvltUigCbT pic.twitter.com/8PhfGzJO2F
Khelif is scheduled to fight Italy’s Angela Carini on Thursday.
As Breitbart Sports reported on Monday, both [Khelif and Yu-Ting] were disqualified by the International Boxing Association (IBA) at the 2023 World Games in New Delhi. Khelif was found to have high levels of testosterone. However, the Algerian Olympic Committee would only concede that he had been disqualified for “medical reasons.”
Yu-Ting had actually medaled at the World Games and had his award stripped after failing IBA eligibility requirements.
“Based on DNA tests, we identified a number of athletes who tried to trick their colleagues into posing as women,” IBA President Umar Kremlev said at the time. “According to the results of the tests, it was proved that they have XY chromosomes. Such athletes were excluded from competition.”
Due to the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) refusal to establish a uniform standard for the admission of trans athletes, the IOC opted to leave the criteria up to the sports’ international governing bodies. While some sports, such as swimming, adopted rules that excluded males from women’s events, boxing did not.
“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,” the IOC said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
