Imane Khelif Set To Defend Title In The Netherlands' Eindhoven Box Cup
Imane Khelif won the gold medal in women's Olympic boxing, despite reports of a failed gender test.
Ten months after a controversial gold-medal-winning run in the 2024 Paris Olympics, Imane Khelif is set to return to the ring at the Eindhoven Box Cup next week.
More than 150 athletes from around the world will participate in the five-day boxing tournament, making it the Netherlands' largest Olympic boxing event. Khelif won the Women's Elite 66 Kg division at the 2024 Eindhoven, dominating opponents 5-0, 4-1 and 5-0.
To promote this year's event, the Eindhoven Box Cup used Khelif's image on a poster, captioning the social media post: "In 2 weeks the biggest boxing event in Europe in Eindhoven! Proud that Imane Khelif is there again to defend her title!"
Khelif's participation in the 2024 Paris Games created a massive global controversy after it was revealed that the Algerian boxer — along with Taiwain's Lin Yu-ting — had previously been banned from the Women's World Boxing Championships over failed gender tests.
Khelif and Yu-ting not only competed but also won gold medals in their respective women's divisions — beating every opponent by unanimous decision.
While neither Khelif nor Yu-ting identifies as transgender, it has been reported that both are impacted by a Difference of Sexual Development (DSD), called 5-alpha reductase deficiency, that is only found in biological males.
Despite all this, though, Khelif has every intention of continuing to compete with women, and that includes returning to the Olympic ring in Los Angeles in 2028.
"For me, I see myself as a girl just like any other girl," Khelif said during an interview with ITV News in March. I was born a girl, raised as a girl, and have lived my entire life as one."
Ahead of the 2025 Eindhoven, Dutch women's rights activists from the group Let Women Speak plan to protest Khelif's participation in the event.