Lovlina Borgohain welcomes World Boxing’s Sex, Age & Weight policy

Tokyo 2020 Olympic bronze medalist boxer Lovlina Borgohain has welcomed World Boxing decision to introduce the mandatory Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) genetic test to determine eligibility of athletes to compete in female competitions. It is quite rare for Indian athletes, present and past, to speak on matters that are considered sensitive and even a taboo.

Speaking on Prarthana Hazarika’s Breaking Barriers podcast, Lovlina Borgohain said it would be fair to female boxers. “I have trained with a lot of male boxers, but it is very different and difficult for female boxers to compete with men in tournaments,” she said while appreciating Algerian boxer Imane Khelif’s tenacity and resolve. 

Clearly, the Indian ace, who won medals in three World Championships, including gold in New Delhi in 2023, echoed the views of the vast majority of female athletes who seek a level playing field without offending the sensibilities of athletes who identify themselves as female but may have XY chromosomes (male) and not XX (female). 

World Boxing recently announced a new ‘Sex, Age and Weight’ policy to ensure the safety of all participants and deliver a level playing field for men and women. It has been put together by a special working group of the World Boxing Medical and Anti-Doping Committee after examining data and medical evidence from many sources. 

The interesting part of the policy is that World Boxing assigns the responsibility of putting the boxers through PCR genetic tests to the respective National Federations. One of the critical aspects of the tests in the home nations of boxers is that it will reduce the scope for controversy during competition. 

Since the policy includes an appeals process and promises support to boxers who provide adverse result to PCR genetic tests, it may seem more welcome than earlier process that led to delays and embarrassment for everyone concerned. More importantly, these matters can be dealt with sensitivity and without training international spotlight. 

A failure to provide certification of the chromosomal sex of an athlete or the provision of a false certification, will render the athlete ineligible to compete and may lead to sanctions against the athlete and/or the respective National Federation, World Boxing has indicated, pointing out that the Sex, Age and Weight policy will come into force next month.

The decision to fix the responsibility of the tests on National Federations may be the result of the learning from experience when test results took a while to be made available. From available information on the most notable cases, it is clear that the results of tests conducted during competition were available either after the event or a day before its conclusion.

The International Boxing Association scratched two boxers from the 2023 World Women’s Boxing Championships for failing to meet eligibility rules. Apparently, the tests were conducted upon the request of the Technical Delegate and Medical Jury and the results became available only a week later and a day before the finals.

IBA revealed that the results of the tests on a couple of boxers conducted during the 2022 World Women’s Boxing Championships in Istanbul came after the final bouts were won and lost. It also revealed that since the results came late, it had not disqualified the athletes. IBA also explained that it did not want to act on the basis of one test for either athlete.

Of course, this is not an easy subject to understand – and most athletes just want to compete rather than get into debates around the science of sex and gender – but it is increasingly clear that many International Federations are now taking steps to address safety and fair play issues raised by female athletes.