The eligibility controversy did not end with Khelif’s Olympic victory. In May 2025, World Boxing introduced mandatory sex-verification testing for athletes competing in its sanctioned events and specifically named Khelif, stating that she would be barred unless testing showed the absence of an SRY gene and androgenizing differences of sex development. The decision effectively prevented her from entering the Eindhoven Box Cup, where she had planned to return to international competition. World Boxing’s decision to single out one Olympic champion drew criticism as an invasion of privacy, prompting president Boris van der Vorst to apologize to the Algerian federation. Khelif appealed, but on 1 September 2025 the Court of Arbitration for Sport declined to suspend the rule while the case proceeded, keeping her out of that year’s World Boxing championship. Later interviews reported that Khelif acknowledged elevated testosterone levels that she was reducing under medical supervision and indicated a willingness to undergo testing required by the IOC; separate reporting interpreted an interview answer as suggesting the presence of an SRY gene, although she had not definitively self-identified as intersex or as having a DSD. The dispute exposed a fractured international boxing structure: the IOC had overseen the Paris tournament after suspending the IBA over governance problems, while World Boxing adopted a new policy that treated Khelif as the public test case. The consequence was a prolonged competitive hiatus, continuing legal uncertainty, and a debate over whether eligibility rules were being applied consistently, transparently, and with adequate protection for athletes’ medical privacy.
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