Drozd on the Khelif scandal: “If there is medical evidence, the Olympic medal should be stripped”

Former world boxing champion Grigory Drozd believes that Algerian Iman Khelif should be disqualified and stripped of her Olympic gold medal if it is proven that she has the XY chromosome set.

Khelif won gold in the women’s boxing competition at the Paris Games. Le Correspondant published a medical report according to which the athlete was diagnosed with the absence of a uterus and ovaries, as well as the presence of testes in the inguinal canal and a “micropenis.”

– We need to learn the rules. I wouldn’t be surprised, but it seems to me that there are no rules that allow men and women to box each other for medals. If there is official medical evidence that Khelif is a man, disqualification and deprivation of the medal should follow. It turns out that Khelif deceived everyone, including the IOC and her rivals. If the data of the French journalist is confirmed, an investigation is required.

I don’t know how the system of admission to competitions works, what documents the athlete from Algeria provided. It is obvious that changes are overdue so that everyone clearly understands the decisions for each athlete and there are no surprises in the future. Someone missed something here. Whether intentionally or not, I don’t know. But changes are required so that such things do not happen again,” Drozd told Metaratings.ru.

– Where do they look when they let either a woman or a man into the ring? I believe that the organizers should control everything and check the tests. Well, what can I say now? Well, she’s a man, so what? After a fight they don’t wave their fists. All this needs to be controlled from the very beginning. “I think it’s the IOC’s mistake, it’s their fault that they allow men to box with women,” said world boxing champion Natalya Ragozina Odds.

In 2023, the International Boxing Association (IBA) suspended Khelif during the World Championships in India due to failure to meet eligibility criteria. As a result of a gender test, it was proven that she has XY chromosomes. The IOC admitted her to women’s competitions in 2024.