Imane Khelif, an Algerian boxer who recently took home a gold medal from the Olympics in Paris, is once again at the center of a contentious debate. According to a leaked medical report, she may have a 5-alpha reductase deficit because of her male traits, such as internal testes and an XY chromosome composition. The allegation, which was reported by journalist Djaffar Ait Aoudia and published in Le Correspondent, stokes a heated discussion over athletes with unusual biological traits competing in women’s events.

The International Boxing Association’s (IBA) president, Umar Kremlev, was among many who voiced their disapproval of the findings. Kremlev accuses Thomas Bach, the head of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), of permitting a “man” to compete against women in the Paris Games. Kremlev claims that the IOC has thereby transgressed the core principles of fair play in sports. He is now calling on Bach and his group to issue a public apology for allegedly disregarding the rights of female boxers and the principles of equality in sports.

The International Basketball Association has continuously opposed athletes with masculine or ambiguous sex traits competing in women’s events. In fact, there was open conflict between the IOC and the IBA after the IOC permitted Taipei fighter Lin Yu-ting and Imane Khelif to compete in the Olympic Games but the IBA banned them from their events.

The publication of the medical report has rekindled the verbal sparring between Kremlev and Bach and increased tensions between the IOC and the IBA. Kremlev made a bold claim, calling on Bach to “kneel down and apologize.” “By putting a man against a woman, the International Olympic Committee has broken all sporting rules,” he said. Imane Khelif’s gender identity is once again confirmed by the tests. I’m waiting for Thomas Bach to issue a public apology on behalf of the boxing community worldwide and all young female boxers.

After the study was released, social media went into overdrive, with both celebrities and non-celebrities contributing to the discussion. The majority voiced support for the IBA, emphasizing both the complexity of the gender issue and the significance of equality in sport.