Imane Khelif gender row reignited. Navratilova reacts to ‘leaked medical report’

Tennis great Martina Navratilova has reiterated her views on boxer Imane Khelif’s gender, referencing a ‘leaked medical report’ that allegedly identifies the Paris Olympics champion as biologically male. Navratilova was one of several high-profile figures who questioned the International Olympic Committee’s decision to allow Imane to compete in the Paris Olympics.
“And here we are- is Imane still suing JK Rowling? Good luck with that lawsuit. Imane might have been raised as a woman but Imane is a biological male and should not have been allowed to box at the Olympics,” Navratilova said in a post on X, referring to the reportedly accessed medical report. Imane had filed a legal complaint after she was subject to online abuse during the Olympics.
Numerous celebrities and global leaders have questioned Khelif’s eligibility to compete in the Games or, in some cases, made false claims regarding her gender.
According to reports, French journalist Djaffar Ait Aoudia accessed the medical report, which was prepared in June 2023 by medical experts from the Kremlin-Bicªtre Hospital in Paris and the Mohamed Lamine Debaghine Hospital in Algiers. The document reportedly provides evidence of Khelif’s biological characteristics, stating that she possesses XY chromosomes—a common marker of biological maleness.
Further findings in the report describe Khelif as having internal testicles and no uterus, details that the report suggests confirm a biological male classification. Additionally, an MRI report is said to identify a micropenis, a feature sometimes linked to specific developmental conditions like 5-alpha reductase deficiency. This condition can result in limited secondary masculine traits and ambiguous genitalia, reportedly aligning with Khelif’s anatomy.
India Today has not been able to independently verify the authenticity of the medical report.

Screengrab from Martina Navratilova’s post on X

The controversy around the genders of Imane Khelif and fellow Olympian Li Yu-ting of Taiwan erupted well before the Paris Olympics when the International Boxing Association disqualified them from the world championships in New Delhi in 2023, claiming both failed an eligibility test for women’s competition.
The International Olympic Committee took the unprecedented step last year of permanently banning the IBA from the Olympics following years of concerns about its governance, competitive fairness and financial transparency. The IOC has called the arbitrary sex tests that the sport’s governing body imposed on the two boxers irretrievably flawed.
The IOC has repeatedly reaffirmed the two boxers’ right to compete in Paris, with President Thomas Bach personally defending Khelif and Lin while calling the criticism “hate speech.”
Notably, Imane Khelif addressed the criticism after becoming the first Algerian female boxer to win an Olympic gold.
“I am fully qualified to take part in this competition. I’m a woman like any other woman. I was born a woman, I lived a woman, I competed as a woman, there’s no doubt about that. [The detractors] are enemies of success, that is what I call them. And that also gives my success a special taste because of these attacks,” she had said.