The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has confirmed that two boxers, Imane Khelif of Algeria and Lin Yu‑ting of Taiwan, who were disqualified from competing with women at a global event last year, have been given the green light to participate in the Paris Olympics 2024 in the women's 66-kilogram and women's 57-kilogram matches. The boxers had initially failed gender eligibility tests at the Women's World Boxing Championships in New Delhi in 2023, which led to their disqualifications. The controversy arose as the president of the International Boxing Association alleged that the athletes had tried to deceive the system by having XY chromosomes, contrary to the typical XX chromosomes for women and XY for men.

Imane Khelif and Lin Yu‑ting have both consistently competed as women and there is no suggestion that they identify as transgender or intersex individuals. Despite their disqualifications and the previous allegations, the IOC has concluded that all athletes taking part in the boxing event at the Paris Olympics 2024 meet the necessary eligibility and medical standards set for the competition.

The IOC's decision comes after updates made in 2021 to the rules regarding athletes' gender eligibility, which now defer to each sport's governing body, moving away from the former association with the International Boxing Association. The Paris 2024 Boxing Unit, an ad-hoc unit established by the IOC, now oversees the eligibility standards for Olympic boxing.

Critics in the United States, where debates over the participation of transgender women in women's sports have been ongoing, have raised concerns over the inclusion of Khelif and Lin in this week's competition. Some critics have questioned the fairness of their participation to other female competitors, while others have directed negative rhetoric towards the two boxers.

Imane Khelif is set to face Italy's Angela Carini in the ring on Thursday, while Lin Yu‑ting is scheduled to fight against Uzbekistan's Sitora Turdibekova on Friday, in what has become a focal point of attention and debate at the Paris Olympics 2024.