The Algerian Imane Khelifone of the two female boxers Paris 2024 embroiled in a gender controversy, won the gold medal at the Olympic Games in the welterweight (-66 kg) on Friday, cheered by thousands of fans in her country.
Khelif claimed her first Olympic title by beating China’s Yang Liu by unanimous decision and celebrated by walking around the ring on Roland Garros Centre Court, carried on the shoulders of her team.
With their jerseys and flags, the Algerian fans painted the stands of the iconic tennis venue green, which was almost full with some 15,000 fans.
Khelif was greeted with a thunderous cheer upon entering, while her rival Yang Liu was booed by part of the audience.
Shouts of “Imane, Imane” encouraged the Algerian throughout the three rounds, in which she completely dominated her rival, world champion last year.
When the verdict was announced, the champion jumped for joy before greeting her opponent and raising her arm in recognition.
The triumph culminates a journey by Khelif through these Games that was embroiled in criticism from some rivals and conservative politicians like Donald Trump, who questioned whether she is a woman because she failed a gender test at the Women’s World Cup last year.
Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting, who was also disqualified from the World Championships for the same reason, will fight for gold on Saturday in the featherweight (-57kg) final against Poland’s Julia Szeremeta.
The International Boxing Association (IBA), which disqualified Khelif and Lin from its world championships last year, said this week that both had undergone “genetic tests that prove they are men.”
On the other hand, both the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which withdrew the organization of Olympic boxing from the IBA due to a lack of transparency, and the governments of Algeria and Taiwan have strongly defended their female boxers, stating that they were born and raised as women.
Source: Ambito
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