Algerian boxer Imane Khelif secured an Olympic medal in Paris on Saturday after winning against Anna Luca Hamori of Hungary in a unanimous 5–0 points decision in a quarterfinal match in the women’s 66-kilogram category.
Khelif is engulfed in controversy over gender eligibility after the 25-year-old was disqualified from a women’s boxing event last year after failing to meet eligibility criteria.
Khelif has a career record of 39 wins and 9 losses, while Hamori has 18 wins and 13 losses.
Speaking to the media after the fight, Hamori said she’s “so proud” of herself because competing at the Olympics was “really a childhood dream.”
“This was a hard fight, but I think I got to do everything I wanted for the fight,” she said. “I’m so grateful to be here.”
Khelif is assured of winning at least a bronze medal by advancing to the semi-finals in the welterweight division. In Olympic women’s boxing, a bronze medal is awarded to each losing semi-finalist.
It’s the first Olympic boxing medal Algeria has secured since 2000.
“We will continue fighting for my country that I love the most,” Khelif told Algerian state television after the fight concluded.
Next, Khelif will face Janjaem Suwannapheng of Thailand in the semi-finals at Roland Garros Stadium on Aug. 6.
Khelif defeated Suwannapheng in the semi-finals during the 2023 International Boxing Association (IBA) Women’s World Boxing Championships before the Algerian was suspended for failing IBA eligibility rules that prevent athletes with XY chromosomes from competing in women’s events.
The International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) inclusion of Khelif and Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-Ting has led to scrutiny due to their prior failure to meet gender eligibility criteria.
On Saturday, IOC President Thomas Bach defended Khelif and Lin after Khelif’s 46-second victory over Italy’s Angela Carini sparked outcry about the IOC’s eligibility regulations.
“We have two boxers who are born as a woman, who have been raised as a woman, who have a passport as a woman, and who have competed for many years as women. And this is the clear definition of a woman,” Bach said.
Lin, a two-time Olympian, will clinch at least bronze if the boxer wins against Bulgaria’s Svetlana Staneva on Aug. 4 in the quarterfinals of the women’s 57-kilogram division.
The 28-year-old easily defeated Uzbekistan’s Sitora Turdibekova in a unanimous 5–0 points decision on Aug. 2. The athlete is well-known in international competitions for being taller and leaner than most other competitors in the division.
IBA Justifies Its Stand
The IBA—which was stripped of its status as the global governing body for boxing in June 2023 over problems related to governance and finance—said in a statement on Aug. 1 that it “stands by its position” of suspending both athletes last year, explaining it was “based on two trustworthy tests conducted on both athletes in two independent laboratories.”
The IOC—which applies different eligibility criteria than the IBA—is now overseeing the boxing competition in Paris. The Russian-dominated IBA and the IOC have clashed for years.
In a separate statement on July 31, the IBA said the specifics of the tests “remain confidential,” noting both athletes were subject to what it described as “a recognized test” at the 2022 and 2023 world championships which led to the conclusion that both boxers had “competitive advantages over other female competitors.”
“We absolutely do not understand why any organisation would put a boxer at risk with what could bring a potential serious injury within the ‘Field of Play,'” the IBA stated.
“The IBA will never support any boxing bouts between the genders, as the organization puts the safety and well-being of our athletes first. We are protecting our women and their rights to compete in the ring against equal rivals, and we will defend and support them in all instances,” it said.
The IOC and Paris 2024 Boxing Unit said in a joint statement on Aug. 1 that the two athletes had been competing in the women’s category for many years and clarified that gender classification is based on their passports.
“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,” the statement reads. “As with previous Olympic boxing competitions, the gender and age of the athletes are based on their passport.”
Other Competitors Comment
Views on Khelif’s and Lin’s inclusion in the Paris Olympics have varied among fighters.
Australia’s Marissa Williamson Pohlman, who lost to Khelif in the Netherlands in May 2023, said the Algerian boxer was particularly strong when they previously fought.
“I did notice it, but you just keep fighting, though, don’t you?” she said. “It’s just a part of the sport. All you want to do is win, so you just keep chucking punches.”
Amy Broadhurst, an Irish amateur boxer who beat Khelif in the 2022 IBA Women’s World Championships, said on social media that she thinks Khelif was born with a condition called “differences in sex development” (DSDs).
According to the National Health Service website, DSDs are a group of rare conditions involving genes, hormones, and reproductive organs. It means a person with DSDs is raised as female but has the male XY sex chromosomes and male blood testosterone levels.
“Personally, I don’t think she has done anything to ‘cheat,'” Broadhurst wrote on her Instagram stories. “I [think] it’s the way she was born & that’s out of her control. The fact that she has been [beaten] by 9 females before says it all.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.