The Olympics most controversial boxer stood her ground today amid a vicious ‘hate campaign’ and took another giant step towards her gold medal dream.
Imane Khelif, 25, defeated Hungary’s Anna Luca Hamori, 23 after spending the past 48 hours, since her first bout in Paris, at the centre of claims that she was, in fact, a male.
She managed to remain focussed on the boxing and unveiled her determination to defy her detractors by showing her class and power in the ring by winning her second fight in Paris.
When Khelif entered the ring, she was met with resounding cheers and did a Ronaldo style celebration, going toner knees and then junking up with arms raised.
She and her Hungarian opponent touched gloves at the start as a sporting gesture.
Her steely composure during the most extraordinary focus on any athlete in Paris is likely to be greeted by Olympic chiefs who have backed her throughout the scandal.
But the questions over participation are set to continue despite claims that much of the opposition against her is fuelled by online hate.
Imane Khelif, 25, took on Hungary ’s Anna Luca Hamori after spending the past 48 hours, since her first bout in Paris, at the centre of claims
Khelif, who was born a female and described by Olympic chief Thomas Bach today as ‘a woman…a woman…a woman’ had been targeted by the International Boxing Association at the World championships in New Delhi last year for having failed gender eligibility tests.
But she remained defiant and having dispatched her first opponent Italy’s Angela Carini went into the ring with the full backing of the Italian and the Algerian Boxing Association who brought her to France.
The furore surrounding her had worsened when the Hungarian posted a photo on social media of a ‘beauty and a beast’ in the run up to the bout and declared she would enter her next fight not concerned whether she would be contesting the bout with a man or a woman.
But it only helped increase the focus on Khelif’s sex and Olympic chiefs slammed the online ‘hate speech’ levied towards her.
Khelif was one of two boxers to have their sex questioned at the Olympics with the second being Taipei’s Lin Yu-Ting who beat Sitora Turdibekova, 22, of Uzbekistan with a unanimous decision in her favour.
The female Italian was left reeling from the cross by Algeria’s Imane Khelif (in the red)
On Thursday, Italy ‘s distraught Angela Carini quit her contest with Algeria’s Imane Khelif
Italy ‘s Angela Carini,25, dropped to her knees in tears after losing the fight
Khelif (pictured front right) opened up about her challenging childhood in an interview before the Games
Genetic tests that were reportedly taken in 2023 have shown that the 25-year-old Khelif has male XY chromosomes in her DNA. But she is not transgender
Hamori Is part of the Hungarian national team and was a national champion in Hungary
Imane Khelif will fight Hungary’s Anna Luca Hamori in the next round at the Olympics
Olympic officials say the matter is a ‘minefield’ and that no forensic and unquestionable scientific evidence has been provided to prove both athletes were not women.
IOC chief Bach said: ‘We are talking about women’s boxing .We have two boxers who are born as a woman, who were raised as women, who have passport as women, who have competed for many years as women. This is the clear definition of a woman.’
But Khelif’s team were unhappy with the ‘baseless’ accusations made against the boxer and when she eventually returns to Algeria will be a star having provided the most sensational boxing bout by defeating her first opponent in just 46 seconds on Thursday.
She is said to be set for a tumultuous welcome when she lands back in Tiaret with offers of TV shows and films, said an Algerian businessman living in Paris.
‘She is a national heroine back home. The public there are very sorry for her for the way she has been treated. She was not famous before, but she is a star now.’
The Algerian Olympic and Sports Committee filed an official complaint with the IOC to protest the online harassment of Khelif that amounts to ‘ a serious violation of sports ethics and the Olympic Charter by one of the participants in the boxing tournament at the Paris Olympics, according to a statement that was posted on the committee’s Facebook page.
The statement did not name the boxer who has allegedly posted disparaging comments of the Algerian, but warned that the IOC ‘has issued a final warning to delete every post that concerns our heroine Iman Khalif.’
It added: ‘ We reserve the right to prosecute everyone who participated in the heinous campaign against our heroine Imane Khelif.’
