Imane Khelif sent a message after proving all her doubters wrong last night (9 August), as the Algerian boxer won gold at the Olympic Games.
The 25-year-old defeated Yang Liu of China in their welterweight bout by unanimous decision after three rounds.
After the fight Khelif was carried around the arena on the shoulders of her trainer, who she embraced following her win.
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All of this comes amid a gender row, as it was revealed after the boxer’s first match in this year’s Olympics that she had failed an unspecified gender eligibility test carried out by the International Boxing Association (IBA) in 2023.
The Algerian won her country’s first Olympic medal in women’s boxing. (Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
Khelif faced off against Angela Carini in her first bout of the Paris Olympics, however, the Italian boxer bowed out after just 46 seconds and a flurry of punches.
Carini said that Khelif’s punches ‘hurt too much’ though she would later apologise for snubbing her opponent’s handshake after all the controversy that followed.
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The Olympic Committee then published a statement defending Khelif’s inclusion in the games, which came after her nation did the same thing.
Khelif was born and raised as a woman and has never publicly identified as a man, transgender, intersex or non-binary.
The boxer had not lost a round in any bout during her Olympic run, and this continued into the gold medal match, as she put up a fantastic performance, winning all three rounds unanimously.
Coming into this final, Khelif had won 12 fights in a row.
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After the final result, the boxing star said: “I am fully qualified. I am a woman like any other woman. I was born a woman, I lived as a woman, I competed as woman – there is no doubt.
“There are enemies of success of course. That gives my success a special taste because of these attacks.”
Khelif had a message to send to the ‘enemies’. (Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
Khelif also had a political message to share with viewers, saying: “I want to tell the world that they should commit to the Olympic principles and they should not bully people.
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“This is the message of the Olympics. I hope people stop bullying. We are in the Olympic to perform as athletes, to our families. I hope will not see any similar attacks in future.”
Tonight (10 August), Taiwan’s Lin Yu-Ting, who also failed a gender eligibility test with the IBA in 2023, will fight for a gold medal in the featherweight division.
The International Olympic Committee president, Thomas Bach, previously defended the right of both athletes to box at the games, adding that he would be the first to adopt an agreed ‘scientifically solid system’.
“This system is working and so therefore our decision is clear,” he said.
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“Women should be allowed to take part in women’s competitions and the two are women.”
Featured Image Credit: Richard Pelham/Getty Images
Topics: Boxing, Olympics, Sport, Imane Khelif
