Olympics chief calls unexpected press conference to defend Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-Ting’s participation in women’s boxing as he insists they were ‘born as women, raised as women and have female passports’

Olympic Games president Thomas Bach has responded to the gender row in boxing at the Games, saying the two athletes at the centre of the row fit “the clear definition of a woman”.

Algeria’s Imane Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-Ting were allowed to compete in the women’s category in Paris, despite having been disqualified from last year’s world championships for allegedly failing a gender test. The ensuing commotion threatened to overshadow the competition.

Both won their opening bouts, with Khelif, who fights later on Saturday, making progress in her welterweight clash with Angela Carini after the tearful Italian withdrew after 46 seconds, later saying she quit “to save her life”.

The issue has sparked a polarised global debate. But Bach, making an unexpected appearance at a news conference on Saturday morning, slammed the “hate speech” aimed at both athletes and added that he had no problem with their participation.

“Ending (the riot) is more up to you than it is up to us,” he told reporters.

Bach also supported Taiwan’s Lin Yu-Ting, who has also been at the eye of the gender storm in boxing

In a speech on Saturday, Bach criticized the “hate speech” directed at both sides and said they are women

“We’re talking about women’s boxing. We have two boxers who were born as women, who were raised as women, who have a passport as women, and who have competed as women for years. This is the clear definition of a woman. There was never any doubt that they were women.”

Bach also claimed that the IOC was working within the only framework available to it.

“What we see now is that some want to embrace the definition of what a woman is,” the German said.

‘I can only invite them to come up with a scientifically based new definition of who a woman is and how someone who is born, raised and fought as a woman cannot be considered a woman. If they come up with something, we are willing to look at it, but we will not participate in a politically motivated culture war. Let me say that what is happening in this context on social media with all this hate speech, aggression and insults, fueled by this agenda, is totally unacceptable.’

The IBA, which is effectively at war with the IOC, has not given clear details. They have only said that both sides failed the gender test. These tests were carried out after concerns were raised.

The decision to expel the boxers was taken by the Russian-led IBA, which had been removed from its role as Olympic organizer due to concerns about governance.

Khelif won her women’s welterweight fight when Angela Carini (right) stopped

The Italian boxer fell to her knees after giving up and was seen crying in the ring

Khelif’s participation in the event has been a source of controversy after she was disqualified from last year’s Women’s World Boxing Championships

Uzbek boxer Sitora Turdibekova was seen crying after her loss to Lin

Lin won her opening bout in the women’s featherweight boxing event Friday night

Asked whether the commotion was the result of a Russian disinformation campaign aimed at destabilising the Games, Bach replied: ‘What we have seen from the Russian side, and in particular from the IBA, whose recognition we had to withdraw for many reasons, is that long before the Games they have been conducting a smear campaign against France, against the Games, against the IOC.’

Bach added: ‘They have made some comments about this which I do not wish to repeat. If you want to have an idea of ​​the credibility of the information coming from this unrecognised federation, I can only advise you to look at the comments they have made recently and make your own judgement.’