The semi-final opponent of the Olympic boxer who failed a gender eligibility test has spoken out following controversy.
Imane Khelif defeated Anna Luca Hamori in the women’s 66kg quarter-final yesterday (3 August), securing herself a medal in this year’s games.
However, she’s been the subject of online abuse and controversy which became even louder after her opponent earlier in the week abandoned their fight after just 46 seconds.
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Algeria’s Khelif is one of two boxers at the Paris Olympics who were disqualified from last year’s Women’s World Boxing Championships after failing to meet their gender eligibility criteria.
The International Boxing Association (IBA) president Umar Kremlev said they ‘proved’ she and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting ‘had XY chromosomes and were thus excluded’. It said they had elevated levels of testosterone and couldn’t compete.
Khelif however was born and raised as a woman and has never publicly identified as a man, intersex or transgender.
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The International Olympic Committee (IOC) defended her inclusion at Paris and said it was 'saddened' by the abuse she has been facing.
Many others have also spoken out in defence of Khelif with her former opponent, Angela Carini saying the backlash made her ‘sad’.
And as the boxer progresses to the semi-finals, she will fight Thailand’s Janjaem Suwannapheng on Tuesday (6 August).
The pair have faced each other before with the Thai boxer saying she lost because her body was exhausted and as she was menstruating, she was a little weaker.
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She does admit that Khelif’s punching power and physique are strong but she’s ‘improved since then’ and Khaosod English reports her saying: “I’ll fight with all I’ve got.”
Suqannapheng continued: “I’ve looked into it too, about her hormones, and I know she’s lost to female boxers before, but that was a long time ago.
“But if we meet again, I’m not afraid because we’re evenly matched. I’ve prepared my body well too, trained a lot. I just think, no matter how strong or tough, we’re both human, we both have two fists. Having come this far, I want to go all the way to the gold medal.”
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Following the controversial fight that saw Carini withdraw, the IOC issued a statement, reaffirming ‘every person has the right to practice sport without discrimination’.
“All athletes participating in the boxing tournament of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 comply with the competition’s eligibility and entry regulations, as well as all applicable medical regulations set by the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit,” it added.
Topics: Boxing, Olympics, Sport, Imane Khelif
Jess Battison