From Anaya Bangar’s cricket comeback to Imane Khelif’s Olympic gold row: The biggest debates about transgender and gender equality in sport
The biggest debates about transgender and gender equality in sports (Agency Images) NEW DELHI: Anaya Bangar’s return to cricket has opened up a much larger conversation about transgender athletes in sports that has now gone beyond the cricket field.The former Mumbai Under-19 cricketer has received permission from Cricket Australia to play women’s community cricket in the country, paving the way back into competitive cricket when the transition begins in 2022. Bangar can immediately participate in Premier Cricket, which Cricket Australia classifies as community cricket. However, her path to elite cricket from March 2027 comes with eligibility conditions, including a requirement to provide a blood test to confirm that her serum testosterone remains below the prescribed limit and that she continues to meet the governing body’s requirements.
Anaya Bangar returns to cricket
The decision has already divided opinion. South African all-rounder Marizanne Kapp publicly criticized Cricket Australia’s position, calling the decision “absolutely ridiculous” and arguing against transgender women competing in women’s cricket.So Bangar’s case is not just about one cricketer. The Olympics took a completely different path
Laurel Hubbard: Olympic Milestone
Few athletes exemplify this change more clearly than New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard.Hubbard became the first openly transgender woman to compete in the Olympics when she competed in the women’s super heavyweight weightlifting event at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. At the time, her participation was seen as a landmark for transgender representation in elite sport.Five years later, the IOC adopted a fundamentally different approach. From Los Angeles 2028, transgender women who do not meet the IOC’s biological-sexual fitness requirements will not be eligible for the women’s category at the Games.
Lia Thomas and the battle that changed American college sports
In the United States, swimmer Lia Thomas has become one of the most prominent figures in the debate. After transferring to the University of Pennsylvania, Thomas competed and became the first openly transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I individual title when she won the women’s 500-yard freestyle in 2022.Her participation sparked an intense debate about eligibility, fairness and the rules governing transgender athletes in college sports.The problem has since moved far beyond one swimmer. In June 2026, the US Supreme Court ruled that laws in West Virginia and Idaho restricting transgender athletes from participating on women’s high school and college teams did not violate Title IX. The court’s decision cleared the way for states to maintain such restrictions based on biological sex.
Emily Bridges and the Battle for Cycling
Emily Bridges. (Photo on Twitter)
Cycling produced another highly visible case through British rider Emily Bridges. Bridges, who previously competed in men’s cycling, sought to compete in women’s events after the transition. Her eligibility became the subject of intense debate in 2022 when she was declared ineligible for the women’s event at the British National Omnium Championships.The wider issue eventually contributed to a significant change in international cycling policy. The Union Cycliste Internationale, cycling’s world governing body, changed its rules in 2023 to ban transgender women who transitioned after male puberty from competing in women’s events on its international calendar. The organization said its decision was based on available scientific evidence and the need to protect equal opportunities for women.
Imane Khelif: The Boxing Controversy That Blurred the Lines
Imane Khelif (Image via Getty)
The transgender debate in sports is also often linked to another high-profile case, but Imane Khelif’s story needs to be treated separately.Khelif is not a transgender athlete. Born and raised as a female, the Algerian boxer competed in the women’s 66kg category at the Paris 2024 Olympics, where she won a gold medal.Nevertheless, her participation became one of the biggest controversies of the games.The issue arose out of a dispute between boxing’s governing bodies. The International Boxing Association (IBA) said Khelif had not met its eligibility requirements for the 2023 World Championships, claiming that testing had found her ineligible to compete in the women’s category. However, the IBA did not publicly release the results of the baseline tests. The IOC, which was responsible for the Paris 2024 boxing competition, rejected the IBA’s position and allowed Khelif to compete.
WNBA debate too
The conversation has also reached women’s basketball in the United States. Indiana Fever player Sophie Cunningham recently reignited the debate after speaking publicly about transgender participation in women’s sports. Her comments drew both support and criticism, forcing the WNBA to address an issue that has largely remained outside the league’s immediate competitive focus.WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert subsequently told teams that the league would continue to discuss transgender participation, acknowledging the growing attention surrounding the issue.The situation is particularly interesting because there is no openly transgender player currently playing in the WNBA.
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