- Aussie secured bronze at the Commonwealth Games
- Progressed to the round of 16 in Paris
- Set for a potential clash with the controversial Taiwan boxer
Australia’s first Muslim female boxer, Tina Rahimi, has stated that ‘exclusion has no place’ in sports, and now finds herself on a path to potentially face off against the contentious Taiwanese boxer Lin Hu-ting at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
Imane Khelif from Algeria and Yu-ting faced disqualification from the 2023 Women’s World Championships after International Boxing Association president Umar Kremlev revealed that DNA tests showed they had XY chromosomes.
According to Kremlev, the fighters are not transgender but were born with DNA that includes male chromosomes.
The IBA emphasized that this decision aims to maintain fairness and competition integrity.
It’s worth noting that the IBA does not oversee Olympic boxing events in Paris.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has justified its choice to permit these two boxers to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics, despite their failed testosterone and gender tests at the 2023 tournament.
Tina Rahimi is Australia’s first ever Muslim women’s boxer to compete at the Olympic Games – and she is in line to have a very controversial fight
If the Aussie keeps winning, she could take on Lin Hu-ting (pictured) who was previously banned from the ring for failing a gender test
The IOC has confirmed that both competitors, who were assigned female at birth and do not identify as transgender or intersex, can participate based on gender eligibility rules applied during the Tokyo Games in 2021.
This controversy escalated overnight as Khelif swiftly defeated Italian boxer Angela Carini in a mere 46 seconds, leaving Carini in tears with a broken nose.
Currently, Commonwealth Games bronze medalist and Pacific champion Rahimi is poised to face Hu-ting in the semi-finals of the featherweight category if both continue to progress.
Hu-ting is set to fight Uzbekistan’s Sitora Turdibekova tonight, while Rahimi will compete against Poland’s Julia Szeremeta, with both hoping for a spot in the quarterfinals.
Imane Khelif from Algeria has been under the spotlight after demolishing Italian fighter Angela Carini in just 46 seconds. Khelif was banned from the same tournament as Lin, and for the same reasons
Carini was left in tears after the match and nursing a suspected broken nose from the heavy hits that she sustained in her bout against Khelif
Rahimi and Hu-Ting find themselves on opposite sides of the draw and would meet in the semi-finals if both advance.
Tahimi, a proud Muslim, competes wearing a hijab and uses professional makeup paired with coverage for her arms and legs.
In previous statements during the tournament, she emphasized that all women deserve the chance to compete at the sport’s highest levels.
‘Regardless of appearance, attire, ethnicity, or religion,’ Rahimi expressed on Instagram.
‘We unite to chase that common dream: to compete and to win. Exclusion has no place here. Discrimination is incompatible with sports, especially in the realm of the Olympics and its values.’
Rahimi is a professional make-up artist and took up the sport of boxing as a way of keeping fit
Different from many other amateur athletes, Rahimi’s aspirations did not revolve around the Olympics; her interest in boxing was simply for fitness.
However, after winning bronze at the Commonwealth Games, she discovered her competitive spirit and aims to demonstrate her capabilities on the Olympic stage in Paris.
‘My Olympic aspirations differ from the traditional views. I never envisioned becoming an Olympian while growing up. I didn’t even follow the Olympics until Tokyo 2020,’ she shared on Instagram.
‘It was only after the 2022 Commonwealth Games, where I claimed bronze in the semi-finals, that the ambition to qualify for the Olympics ignited within me, and I knew my journey was far from over.’
