Olympics-Boxing-Algeria condemns targeting of boxer Khelif over gender test

By Aadi Nair and Ashraf Hamed Atta

PARIS (Reuters) - Algeria's Olympic committee (COA) on Wednesday condemned "baseless" attacks on boxer Imane Khelif amid scrutiny of her participation in the Olympics after her disqualification from a tournament last year for failing a gender eligibility test.

Khelif was disqualified hours before her gold medal bout at the World Championships in New Delhi when she failed to meet the International Boxing Association's (IBA) eligibility criteria.

She has, however, been ruled eligible to compete in the boxing competition at the Paris Olympics, which is being organised by the International Olympic Committee, and will face Italian Angela Carini in a welterweight bout on Thursday.

"COA strongly condemns the unethical targeting and maligning of our esteemed athlete, Imane Khelif, with baseless propaganda from certain foreign media outlets," it said in a statement.

"Such attacks on her personality and dignity are deeply unfair, especially as she prepares for the pinnacle of her career at the Olympics. The COA has taken all necessary measures to protect our champion."

Italy's Family Minister Eugenia Roccella and Sports Minister Andrea Abodi voiced rconcern about the eligibility rules on Wednesday.

"It is surprising that there are no certain, strict, uniform criteria at the international level," Roccella said.

She added that it was strange "that there can be a suspicion, and far more than a suspicion, of an unfair and potentially dangerous contest for one of the contenders at the Olympics, an event that symbolises sporting fairness".

Abodi questioned a lack of alignment in "parameters of minimum hormonal values.

"In the event that represents the highest values of sport, the safety of female and male athletes must be guaranteed, as well as respect for fair competition," Abodi added.

"That is not how it will be tomorrow for Angela Carini."

Some sports in recent years have limited the levels of testosterone allowed for athletes competing in women's competition, while others ban everyone who has been through male puberty.

Taiwan's double world champion Lin Yu-ting also lost her bronze medal at last year's World Championships after she failed to meet the criteria. Lin will face Uzbekistan's Sitora Turdibekova in a featherweight bout in Paris on Friday.

'INCREDIBLY DANGEROUS'

The IBA released a statement on Wednesday saying the two boxers had been banned from the World Championships in the interest of fairness and safety and said all questions over why they are able to compete in Paris should be directed to the IOC.

The International Olympic Committee earlier this week said the boxers were women and should be able to compete as women.

Some of the other boxers in the women's competition have expressed reservations about the inclusion of athletes with raised levels of testosterone in the competition.

"I don't agree with them being allowed to compete in sport and especially combat sports. It can be incredibly dangerous," said Australian Caitlin Parker.

"It's not like I haven't sparred guys before, but you just know that it can be dangerous for combat sports. It should be seriously looked into."

Asian Games middleweight bronze medallist Baison Manikon of Thailand said: "Because of the muscle mass and the intensity, I feel like it's a big advantage."

Australian Tiana Echegaray acknowledged that it was a tricky situation.

"I don't know exactly what their circumstances are," she said.

"I think it's a case-by-case situation. If you're talking about fighting an actual man, then no, I'm not cool with fighting a man. But in their case, I can't say specifically,"

There was no immediate response to a request for comment from the Taiwan Olympic Committee but Taiwanese boxer Kan Chia-Wei backed his teammate Lin to rise above the row.

"There will be some pressure on her. I have confidence in her," Kan said.

"It's just a public opinion. Of course, she will try to not listen to the media. She will try to avoid it."

(Reporting by Aadi Nair, Ashraf Hamed Atta and Karolos Grohmann in Paris; Additional reporting by Alessandro Parodi in Gdansk, Editing by Ken Ferris)