Algeria's Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-Ting from Taiwan were disqualified from the Women's World Boxing Championships in March 2023 in New Delhi. At the time, Umar Kremlev, president of the International Boxing Association (IBA), asserted that the tests showed the athletes, including Khelif and Yu-Ting, had "XY chromosomes."

He also claimed that they "uncovered athletes who were trying to fool their colleagues and pretend to be women." Algeria's Khelif was disqualified for exceeding the testosterone level limit, while Yu-Ting had her bronze medal revoked.

After last year’s ban, the Algerian Olympic Committee responded by alleging that the disqualification was part of a "conspiracy" to prevent them from winning a gold medal. They also stated that 'medical reasons' were responsible for the elevated testosterone levels.

Feminist website Reduxx reports that both athletes are believed to have a Difference of Sexual Development (DSD), a set of medical conditions present at birth where genitalia does not match the chromosomal pattern.

The International Boxing Association (IBA) is not in charge of the Olympic competition, which lost its recognition from the IOC due to ongoing governance issues. Instead, the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit has been set up to oversee the event. The Boxing Unit has permitted both athletes to compete under the regulations from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, which are less stringent than those of the IBA.

IOC spokesperson Mark Adams affirmed that the organisation is 'entirely comfortable with the rules' used for the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Olympics, and emphasised that there should not be a "witch-hunt" against the two boxers.

"These boxers are entirely eligible, they are women on their passports, they have competed for many years," Adam's stated at a press conference. "I actually think it is not helpful to start stigmatising people who take part in sport like this. They are women who competed in Tokyo.

"I think we all have a responsibility to dial down this and not turn it into some kind of witch-hunt. These are regular athletes who have competed for many years in boxing, they are entirely eligible and they are women on their passports," he added.

Both boxers participated in the Tokyo Olympics, with Khelif losing in the quarter-finals to Ireland's Kellie Harrington, who went on to win gold. Yu-Ting, a two-time Asian champion, was defeated in the last-16 of the women’s featherweight category. Khelif, a welterweight, is set to face Italy’s Angela Carini on Thursday, while Yu-Ting will compete on Friday.