Found boxer Khelif wins Olympic gold
Imane Khelif is the Olympic champion in boxing. The Algerian, who was excluded from the 2023 World Championships due to allegedly failing a gender test, faced hostility at the Paris tournament, particularly online. However, the Algerian remains undeterred and won gold against Chinese opponent Liu Yang.
Algerian boxer Imane Khelif won gold at the Olympics, bringing a sporting happy ending to two weeks of heated debates about her gender. In the final of the 66kg class, the 25-year-old won convincingly against Chinese world champion Yang Liu at the refurbished Philippe Chatrier tennis temple, watched by around 14,000 spectators. This is the biggest achievement of her career.
It is Algeria's second gold medal in Paris, following gymnast Kaylia Nemour's win on the uneven bars, and the country's second Olympic boxing gold, after Hocine Soltani won in the featherweight category at the 1996 Atlanta Games.
The debate around Khelif intensified throughout the Games. After her opening bout against Italian Angela Carini on August 1, which ended in Carini's defeat in just 46 seconds, the issue became politicized. The IOC and its president Thomas Bach felt compelled to issue a public statement. The IBA, the boxing world governing body not recognized by the IOC, held a bizarre press conference.
In it, controversial IBA president Umar Kremlev claimed that Khelif and Taiwanese boxer Lin Yuting, who also fought for gold on Saturday, are biologically male, according to tests. The IBA had excluded Khelif from the 2023 World Championship final, where she would have faced Yang.
The IOC does not recognize the IBA's test results and called the federation's actions unserious. "There was never any doubt" that Khelif and Lin "are women," said IOC president Thomas Bach. On social media, Khelif became the target of unsavory pseudopolitical discussions and harsh criticism.
Despite the intense debates and online hostility, Imane Khelif's triumph at the Olympic Games 2024 in Paris was undeniable, securing gold in the 66kg class against Chinese opponent Liu Yang. This victory marked a significant milestone in Khelif's career, following in the footsteps of Algeria's previous Olympic boxing gold medalist Hocine Soltani from the 1996 Atlanta Games.
