NEW DELHI: The French women’s boxing team has been barred from competing at the World Championships after their gender test results were not submitted in time, the French Boxing Federation (FFBoxe) confirmed on Thursday. World Boxing had announced last month that all women participating in the Liverpool event, which begins Thursday, must undergo mandatory genetic sex testing under its new policy.However, such tests have been prohibited in France since a 1994 law, except under strict conditions. As a result, the French federation had to wait until the team arrived in England to conduct the tests.According to FFBoxe, the five boxers completed testing at a World Boxing-accredited laboratory, with the expectation that results would be available before the deadline.In a statement to AFP, World Boxing placed responsibility for the delay squarely on the national federations.”Since World Boxing first announced… its intention to introduce mandatory sex testing to determine the chromosomal sex of a male or female at birth, the organisation has made it clear that testing will be the responsibility of National Federations (NFs),” read the statement.”They have the closest links and most access to their boxers and are best placed to manage the testing process.”They also oversee the entry process for boxers so know which boxers need to be tested and when.”It is very disappointing for the boxers that some National Federations have not been able to complete this process in time which means that some athletes have not made it through the sports entry process for the World Boxing Championships.”French Sports Minister Marie Barsacq slammed the decision as “inadmissible” and FFBoxe were left seething over the decision.”It is with stupefaction and indignation that the French team learned on Wednesday evening the French women’s boxing team would not be able to compete in the first world championships organised by World Boxing,” FFBoxe said in a statement.”Despite guarantees given to us by World Boxing, the laboratory which they recommended to us was not up to the task of delivering the results on time.”As a result our athletes as well as those from other countries have been caught in this trap and excluded.”- ‘Level playing field’ -Maelys Richol, one of the five French boxers affected, said she felt “frustration, anger and disappointment”.Under World Boxing’s policy, fighters over 18 who want to participate in their competitions need to take a PCR, or polymerase chain reaction, genetic test.”World Boxing’s policy on gender eligibility, which includes mandatory sex testing, is designed to ensure the safety of all participants and deliver a competitive level playing field,” they said in Thursday’s statement.Boxing has been rocked by organisational problems in recent years.World Boxing have been mandated by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) with organising the sport at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.In late May, World Boxing announced they were introducing mandatory gender testing to determine the eligibility of male and female athletes wanting to take part in its competitions.It has become a major issue in boxing since the Paris Olympics last year when Algerian boxer Imane Khelif and Taiwanese fighter Lin Yu-ting were at the centre of a gender row.Lin and Khelif were excluded from the International Boxing Association’s (IBA) 2023 world championships after the IBA said they had failed eligibility tests.However, the IOC allowed them both to compete in Paris, saying they had been victims of “a sudden and arbitrary decision by the IBA”. Both won gold medals.Khelif has turned to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to challenge World Boxing’s introduction of the genetic sex test.Neither Khelif nor Lin are competing in Liverpool.During the Paris Games, both women were subjected to attacks on social media, rumours about their biological sex and disinformation.The IOC leaped to their defence, saying they were born and raised as women, and have passports attesting to that.The debate about eligibility in women’s sports categories has not just affected boxing but has also athletics and swimming. Athletics introduced its own gender test this month.(With inputs from AFP)
