Tina Rahimi: Meet the Aussie Paris Olympics boxer who is on a collision course with controversial fighter who was banned from the ring for failing a gender test
- Australian wins bronze at Commonwealth Games
- Has reached the round of 16 in Paris
- Is on collision course with controversial Taiwanese boxer
Australia’s first Muslim female boxer, Tina Rahimi, once said “no one should be excluded” from the sport. Now she’s on a collision course with controversial Taiwanese fighter Lin Hu-ting at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Algeria’s Imane Khelif and Yu-ting were disqualified from the 2023 Women’s World Championship after International Boxing Association president Umar Kremlev announced that DNA tests showed they had XY chromosomes.
According to his statement, the fighters are not transgender, but were born with DNA that contains male chromosomes.
The IBA stated that the decision was taken to ensure the fairness and integrity of the competition.
However, the IBA is not responsible for organizing the Olympic boxing matches in Paris.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has defended its decision to allow the two boxers to compete at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris despite them failing testosterone and gender eligibility tests at the 2023 tournament.
Tina Rahimi is the first ever Muslim Australian woman to compete at the Olympics – and she’s about to have a very controversial race
If the Australian continues to win, she could face Lin Hu-ting (pictured), who was previously banned from the ring for failing a gender test
The IOC confirmed that both fighters, who were born female and do not identify as transgender or intersex, could compete under the gender equality rules applied at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
That debate reached a fever pitch when Khelif defeated Italian boxer Angela Carini in just 46 seconds, leaving her in tears and with a broken nose.
Rahimi, a Commonwealth Games bronze medalist and Pacific champion, will face Hu-ting in the featherweight semi-finals if they both advance.
Hu-ting will face Sitora Turdibekova of Uzbekistan tonight, while Rahimi will face Julia Szeremeta of Poland. Both are fighting for a place in the quarterfinals.
Algeria’s Imane Khelif is in the spotlight after defeating Italian fighter Angela Carini in just 46 seconds. Khelif was banned from the same tournament as Lin, and for the same reasons
Carini was in tears after the match and probably had a broken nose from the heavy blows she received in her fight against Khelif.
Rahimi and Hu-Ting are on opposite sides of the draw and would face each other in the semifinals if they both advance.
Tahimi is a proud Muslim who wears a hijab in the ring, along with professional makeup and coverings for her arms and legs.
Earlier in the tournament, she said all women should have the opportunity to compete at the highest level of the sport.
“It doesn’t matter how you look or dress, what your ethnicity is or what religion you are,” Rahimi said on Instagram.
“We all come together to achieve that one dream. To compete and win. No one should be excluded. Discrimination is not welcome in sport, especially not in the Olympics and what it stands for.”
Rahimi is a professional make-up artist and took up boxing to stay fit
Rahimi stands out from most amateur fighters because she never dreamed of competing in the Olympics. She just wanted to play the sport to get fit.
However, her bronze at the Commonwealth Games has fuelled her ambitions and she wants to show in Paris how far she can go at the highest level.
‘My Olympic dream is not comparable to most people’s. I never grew up [up] dreams of becoming an Olympian. I have never watched an Olympics until Tokyo 2020,” she revealed on Instagram.
‘It wasn’t until after the 2022 Commonwealth Games that I started to have the goal of qualifying for the Olympics. I lost in the semi-finals and secured a bronze medal. I knew I wasn’t done yet.’