Olympics boxing row turns into shambles as IBA hold car crash two-hour press conference
The IBA held a chaotic press conference on Monday
REUTERS
The International Boxing Assocation (IBA) referred to both Imane Khelief and Lin Yu-ting as 'men' in a disorderly press conference that saw president Umar Kremlev make some inappropriate remarks.
Khelif and Yu-ting's presence at the Paris Olympics has caused a huge stir after they were cleared by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to compete in women's boxing.
Their involvement comes just a year after they were both disqualified midway through the women's world championships by the IBA for failing 'gender eligibility tests'.
The Russian-backed organisation were previously amateur boxing's governing body before they were stripped of that title in 2019 due to concerns over its governance and finance regulations.
The IBA held a chaotic press conference on Monday
REUTERS
They released a statement last week condemning the IOC for allowing both Khelif and Yu-ting to participate in women's boxing at the Olympics, but refused to divulge the specifics regarding the gender tests both boxers are said to have failed.
Both governing bodies have been locked in a heated war of words ever since with both Khelif and Yu-ting caught in the middle.
The two fighters are now guaranteed a medal after winning their opening two bouts and are on course to potentially win gold.
Just 24 hours before Khelif's scheduled semi-final against Janjaem Suwannapheng, the IBA held a press conference in Paris with aroud 70 media personnel present.
But there was no further evidence given from the banned boxing federation to substantiate their alleged test results that both Khelif and Yu-ting were not biologically female.
The press conference turned sour as Kremlev referred to both boxers as 'men' and said abruptly 'we have not checked what’s between their legs'.
Kremlev and Chris Roberts, the IBA's British chief executive, were grilled over inconsistencies in the reporting from the federation regarding the test results.
Kremlev suggested the results were due to high-levels of testosterone while another piece of correspondence from the IBA claimed it found DNA 'of a male consisting of XY chromosomes' to confuse matters further.
Umar Kremlev went on a rambling rant about the two boxers
GETTY
The IBA president also continued his assault on the IOC as he began a rambling tirade against Thomas Bach.
He said: "When I said sodomite, I meant Thomas Bach and those who made this declaration. They have been making fun of Christianity and the Bible. In scripture, Sodom and Gomorrah existed and God destroyed these cities because they had no human value in them.
“As president of an international federation and a firm believer in god, and a person defending human values and democracy I couldn’t keep silent. And this opening was arranged and designed by Thomas Bach and his friends. He did it in order to improve his PR status. As a Christian, believing in god, I disagree with this presentation of the scripture. And I would never like to see that happening again in the sport.”
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Lin Yu-ting and Imane Khelif are guaranteed medals at the Olympics
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The two-hour press conference ended and Algerian boxer Roumaysa Boualam led protests at the back of the room.
"We live in Algeria, she is born as a woman," Boualem said.
"They (IBA) say they are protecting women, they are protecting athletes, but she also needs to be protected."