Boxer Imane Khelif, whose gender eligibility has sparked controversy, was in tears after securing a welterweight medal at the Paris Olympics by defeating Hungarian Luca Anna Hamori.
Despite being banned from last year’s World Championships by the International Boxing Association (IBA) for failing gender eligibility tests, Khelif is one of two boxers competing in Paris. The 25-year-old Algerian, cheered on by loud Algerian supporters, went the full three rounds on Saturday, winning by unanimous decision.
“I feel good,” an emotional Khelif told a private news outlet. “It’s the first medal in women’s boxing for Algeria. I’m very happy. I want to thank the entire world and the Arabic world—thank you so much.”
Before the fight, Hamori expressed her doubts about the fairness of Khelif’s participation but maintained a positive attitude throughout the bout. The fighters shared an embrace after the final bell and once the result was confirmed.
“It was a very hard day for both of us, but I just want to say it was a great fight. I wish Khelif good luck in the future, and thank you so much,” Hamori said. When asked again about the fairness of the fight, Hamori, who was booed into the arena, responded, “I don’t care about it.”
Following the fight, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune posted on social media: “You have honored Algeria, Algerian women, and Algerian boxing. We will stand by your side, whatever your results are. Good luck in the next two rounds and moving forward.”
Khelif is set to face Janjaem Suwannapheng, who defeated the 2021 Olympic champion from Turkey, Busenaz Surmeneli, in the semi-final on Tuesday. Regardless of the outcome, Khelif will leave the Paris Games with at least a bronze medal.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC), which oversees boxing at the Games, has strongly supported Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting amid the ongoing debate. IOC President Thomas Bach stated there was “never any doubt” the pair are women.
Last year, Khelif reached the final of the World Championships before being disqualified by the IBA, a Russia-led organization suspended by the IOC in 2019 due to concerns over its finances, governance, ethics, refereeing, and judging. The IBA claimed Khelif “failed to meet the eligibility criteria for participating in the women’s competition,” while the IOC criticized the IBA for disqualifying the pair “without any due process.”
On Saturday, the IBA announced plans for a news conference on Monday to provide a detailed explanation of the reasons behind the disqualification of Khelif and Lin.
Yacine Arab, the Algeria National Olympic Committee’s sport manager, dismissed the controversy around Khelif as a “joke.” Some reports speculated that Khelif and Lin might have differences of sexual development (DSD) like runner Caster Semenya, based on the IBA’s statement that they have XY chromosomes.
Arab refuted these claims. Speaking to a private news outlet before Saturday’s fight, he said, “When she arrived at the village, she did the tests. Do you think if she was positive, they would let her fight? Never. She did all the tests—even the tests for pregnancy. All the tests were negative.”
“[The IBA] said she was positive and her testosterone is very, very high. Then the medical president of the IOC said that it’s really normal in boxing for athletes’ testosterone to be high. For all the girls, it is the same. Imane is not alone in this case.
“The controversy is a joke. Everyone knows that Imane was born a girl. She has fought all her life as a girl. In all the competitions, she was a girl. When she was losing, nobody talked about this.”
