Algeria’s Imane Khelif fought past the criticism targeted at her to beat Hungary’s Luca Anna Hamori by unanimous decision in the welterweight quarterfinals at the Paris Games and ensured Algeria’s first Olympic boxing medal since 2000.
Khelif, a silver medallist at the 2022 Worlds, and Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting have been in the spotlight in recent days as part of a gender dispute that has dominated headlines and been the subject of much discussion on social media platforms.
Both boxers were disqualified at the 2023 World Championships in New Delhi after failing the International Boxing Association’s (IBA) eligibility rules preventing athletes with male XY chromosomes from competing in women’s events.
Khelif had a quick start against Hamori on Saturday, letting fly with flurries of lightning-quick punches to win the first two rounds on every judge’s scorecard, despite the Hungarian landing a couple of strong shots.
The Algerian was slightly less willing to engage in exchanges in the final round, which had more than its fair share of clinching and grappling, but she did enough to win by a comfortable margin.
The pair hugged after the final bell, before a tearful Khelif embraced her coaches on the sidelines.
Khelif will face Janjaem Suwannapheng of Thailand, whom she beat at the World Championships in 2023 before being disqualified, in Tuesday’s semifinals.
“It is hard, she has suffered a lot – as a child and now as a champion, she has suffered so much during these games,” said Khelif’s coach Mohamed Chaoua.
“Where is the humanity? Where are the associations for women’s rights? She is a victim.”
‘Sad to see controversy’
The North Paris Arena had a number of Algerian fans in attendance, who cheered on Khelif throughout the bout and chanted “Imane, Imane, Imane” loudly while waving the country’s flags.
“We were quite sad to see that controversy, she’s an athlete who is well supported in Algeria and we’re behind her,” Algerian fan Kawther Laanani told the Reuters news agency.
The boxing tournament in Paris is being organised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which stripped the IBA of international recognition in 2023 over governance and finance issues.
IOC President Thomas Bach on Saturday said there “was never any doubt” that Khelif and Lin were women who had every right to compete at the Paris Olympics.
On Friday, Hungary’s boxing federation said it had contacted the IOC to object to the participation of Khelif in the tournament.
Khelif won her round-of-16 bout in 46 seconds on Thursday, after her Italian opponent Angela Carini pulled out of the fight.
Carini was hit with multiple punches in the first 30 seconds, before raising her hand and returning to her corner to withdraw from the fight.
The Italian, who said she withdrew because she felt intense pain and was worried for her own safety, later said she wanted to apologise to Khelif in an interview with Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport.
Taiwan’s double world champion Lin faces Svetlana Kamenova Staneva of Bulgaria in a featherweight quarterfinal on Sunday.
The Bulgarian Olympic Committee said it had voiced its concerns over Khelif’s and Lin’s presence at the tournament during a meeting with the IOC’s Medical and Scientific Commission on July 27.
Khelif’s father ‘honoured’ by her success
Khelif’s father says the boxer had honoured his family, calling attacks against her immoral.
In an interview with Reuters at his simple, cinderblock home on the outskirts of the northern Algerian city of Tiaret, Amar Khelif said he was proud of his daughter, and backed her to win a medal for all of all Algeria.
“Having such a daughter is an honour because she is a champion, she honoured me and I encourage her and I hope she will get the medal in Paris,” he said.
“Imane is a little girl that has loved sport since she was six years old.”
He shared an official-looking document, which showed her birthday.
“This is our family official document, May 2, 1999, Imane Khelif, female. It is written here you can read it, this document doesn’t lie,” he said.
The IOC, which states that inclusion should be the default and athletes should only be excluded from women’s competition if there are clear fairness or safety issues, has defended its decision to allow Khelif to compete.
In the Tiaret boxing club, where a poster featuring Khelif looms over the ring, young female boxers sprung to their idol’s defence.
Bouchra Rebihi, a 17-year-old who dreams of turning pro, scorned Khelif’s naysayers.
“I know Imane Khelif as the champion of Algeria many times, champion of Africa, as well, and also, Arab champion,” she said.
“These critics aim to destabilise her to fail in the boxing ring but she is a champion and she will remain a champion.”
