Algerian fighter Imane Khelif has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over World Boxing’s decision to bar her from its events without a preliminary genetic sex test.
It comes after World Boxing blocked Khelif from participating in the Box Cup in Eindhoven or any World Boxing event until she had undergone genetic sex testing.
The boxer found herself at the centre of a gender row after her opponent in the Paris olympics last year, Italian Angela Carini, abandoned the fight after just 46 seconds saying she feared for her life over the Algerian’s strength.
The boxer, who went on to win Olympic gold, said “attacks” on her had left a “special taste” after clinching the coveted medal.

Imane Khelif of Team Algeria celebrates victory against Anna Luca Hamori of Team Hungary after the Women’s 66kg Quarter-final round match. Picture: Getty
The row stems from the boxer’s disqualification from the 2023 World Championships after failing a gender eligibility test, where Khelif failed two sex tests.
World Boxing then made the decision to ban the 26-year-old from participating in their events without a preliminary sex test first.
A court statement has now said an appeal was filed by Khelif on August 5 seeking to overturn the decision.
The appeal also seeks a declaration from CAS that Khelif is eligible to participate without a test in the World Boxing Championships between September 4 and 14.
The statement said a request to suspend World Boxing’s decision to bar Khelif until the case is heard was dismissed on Monday.
Written submissions are being exchanged between the parties, the court statement said, and a hearing will be scheduled with their agreement.
Khelif won Olympic women’s welterweight gold in Paris last summer having been cleared to compete by the International Olympic Committee, despite the International Boxing Association having banned her from the previous year’s World Championships for allegedly failing to meet gender eligibility criteria.
After her gold medal victory, Khelif said: “I am fully qualified to take part in this competition – I am a woman.
“I was born a woman, I’ve lived as a woman and I’ve competed as a woman.
“There’s no doubt that there are enemies of success, and that gives my success a special taste because of these attacks.”