Singapore--A gender row hit the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games on Tuesday after the Philippines demanded that organisers carry out tests on a women's volleyball player from Indonesia.
A team official confirmed reports that the Philippines had asked for a gender test on Aprilia Santini Manganang of Indonesia, 23, ahead of their game on Wednesday.
Competition organisers were not immediately available to comment and there was no response from officials from Indonesia to what risks becoming a storm of controversy.
The Philippines' delegation spokeswoman confirmed the request, but said she didn't expect any test to be carried out before the game in Singapore on Wednesday.
"After we filed it's going to be the competition manager who will reply directly to the volleyball federation or to volleyball officials here," she told AFP.
Gender testing is highly controversial, both because of the psychological effects on the athlete and because the science of the process is murky and complex.
"She's very powerful, it's like putting a male in the female division," said Philippines coach Roger Gorayeb said, according to Inquirer.net.
"Whether she plays or not, it doesn't matter because we will be playing our best here," he added.
It overshadowed a busy day at the regional Olympics where Joseph Schooling won his fifth and sixth swimming golds for Singapore and Filipino-Americans dominated the athletics.
AFP
