As transgender fighters Imane “The Bullet” Kherif of Algeria and Lin “The Bullet” Yu-ting of Taiwan prepare to step into the ring against female competitors later this week, one of Kherif’s former opponents is sounding the alarm about the dangers posed by male fighters.
Mexico’s Brianda Tamara Cruz Sandoval, who fought Kheriff in December 2022, told The Telegraph she felt in extreme danger after absorbing Kheriff’s punches.
“When I fought her, I felt that I wasn’t strong enough,” Tamara added. “Her blows hurt me badly. I thank God that I was able to leave the ring that day safe and it’s good that they finally noticed.”
Video of the Sandoval-Kherif fight reveals the truth of her words, with the Mexican fighter appearing to stumble with each punch from the Algerian.
This is Imane Khelif, who fought a Mexican woman in Mexico in December 2022.
Three months later, tests revealed that she had XY chromosomes.
Pay attention to the power of the punch.
Imane’s opponent on that day was @BriandaTamaraHe said that was certainly the case.#Olympic events #boxing https://t.co/NvltUigCbT pic.twitter.com/8PhfGzJO2F
— Theresa Smith (@treesey) July 29, 2024
Kheriff is scheduled to fight Italy’s Angela Carini on Thursday.
As Breitbart Sports reported on Monday, [Khelif and Yu-Ting] The International Boxing Association (IBA) has disqualified Kherif from the World Games to be held in New Delhi in 2023 after he was found to have high testosterone levels, but the Algerian Olympic Committee could only acknowledge that the reason for the disqualification was “medical reasons”.
Yuting had actually won a medal at the World Games but was stripped of the award because she did not meet the IBA’s eligibility requirements.
“DNA tests have revealed that several athletes tried to deceive their colleagues by pretending to be female,” IBA president Umar Kremlev said at the time. “The tests proved that they have XY chromosomes. Such athletes have been excluded from competition.”
After the International Olympic Committee refused to set uniform eligibility standards for transgender athletes, it left it up to each sport’s international governing body to decide. Some sports, such as swimming, have adopted rules to exclude men from women’s competitions, but boxing has not.
“All athletes taking part in the boxing competition at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will comply with the sport’s eligibility and entry rules, as well as all applicable medical regulations,” the IOC said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
