Tue Sep 02 11:37:50 UTC 2025: ## Gender Testing Row Keeps Stars Out of Boxing World Championships
**Liverpool, UK** – A cloud of controversy hangs over the World Boxing Championships in Liverpool as two prominent female boxers, Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting and Algeria’s Imane Khelif, are set to miss the competition amid ongoing disputes over mandatory gender testing.
Both Lin and Khelif, who achieved success at the 2024 Paris Olympics, found themselves embroiled in gender verification debates earlier this year. Following the controversy, World Boxing implemented a new policy requiring female competitors to undergo PCR genetic testing to be eligible for the championships.
While Lin’s coach initially stated that she would comply with the testing and the Taiwan boxing association claims to have submitted her results to World Boxing, no response has been received. “We cannot allow the athlete to travel to the UK without any guarantee,” the association stated, confirming Lin’s absence from the event.
Khelif, meanwhile, is challenging the gender testing policy through the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
The situation echoes a similar incident last year, when both boxers were barred from the International Boxing Association’s (IBA) World Championships after failing eligibility tests. However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) allowed them to compete in Paris, denouncing the IBA’s decision as “arbitrary.” The IOC has previously defended both athletes, confirming they were born and raised as women.
Lin and Khelif were both targets of social media attacks and disinformation campaigns questioning their biological sex during the Paris Games. At this time neither boxer will compete in Liverpool.
World Boxing has been contacted for comment on the situation. The absence of these two high-profile athletes raises further questions about the application and implications of the new gender testing policy within the sport.
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