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Algerian boxer Imani Khelif won a medal in a spirited fight at the Paris Olympics on Saturday, days after she faced heavy online scrutiny and abuse as misunderstandings about her gender ignited a larger conflict over identity in the sport.
Hleif defeated Anna Luka Hamori of Hungary 5-0 in the women’s 66kg quarterfinals. Hleif easily won her second victory in her turbulent second Olympic journey and will win at least a bronze medal.
Khalif has been banned from the Olympics since 2019 after the International Boxing Association claimed he failed an unspecified qualification test last year because of high testosterone levels. Khalif won his first fight of the Paris Olympics on Thursday when opponent Angela Carini of Italy withdrew in tears after just 46 seconds of the fight.
The unusual ending further fuelled divisions over gender identity and rules in sport, prompting comments from former US President Donald Trump, Harry Potter author JK Rowling and others who falsely claimed Ms Khalif was male or transgender.
The Paris Olympics have championed inclusivity but have also sparked an outcry over the opening ceremony featuring drag queens, with the LGBTQ+ community saying the hate speech could be dangerous for their community and female athletes.
Ms. Khelif’s second win in Paris seemed like an emotional catharsis for the 25-year-old boxer from a village in northwestern Algeria. After raising her hand in victory, Ms. Khelif walked to the center of the ring, waved to her fans, then knelt and slammed her palms into the ring, her smile turning to tears.
She left the ring to hug her coach as fans cheered and burst into tears during the hug and as she left. Back home in Algeria, her family and fans watched with pride as she won her second fight.
“I’m happy for my daughter. Despite the racist and sexist attacks, she is brave,” her mother Irene said on Algerian television.
The Hungarian Boxing Association said on Friday it planned to fight the bout with the International Olympic Committee, but it allowed the event to go ahead. After the bout, Hungarian International Olympic Committee member Balazs Furjes joined Ms. Hamori in saying she firmly stated that “not fighting is never an option.”
“I’m proud of myself because I got to fight and I love fighting,” said Hanemori, who has won two previous matches in Paris. “It was a hard battle but I think I gave everything I had for this battle and I think in this battle I’m proud of myself and I’m grateful to be here. This is really my childhood dream.”
Mr. Vergis read out an ambiguous statement in which he praised Ms. Hamori and the IOC but also said Hungary was not entirely satisfied.
“We Hungarians are always ready to fight bravely and fiercely, and what Luca just did and demonstrated is exactly that,” Mr. Fulyes said. “Of course, the Paris boxing match has its consequences. These consequences must be carefully evaluated after the Olympics.”
Ms. Khalif stopped briefly to speak with an Algerian television crew and then headed straight for the dressing room, without stopping for the dozens of waiting journalists.
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach earlier on Saturday defended Khalif and Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-Ting, who were disqualified from last year’s world championships by the International Boxing Federation, boxing’s former Olympic governing body, for failing to pass qualification tests.
Both sports have competed in IBA events for several years without any problems, while the Russian-dominated IBA has been at odds with the IOC for years, with the body refusing to provide any information on the tests, highlighting its lack of transparency in almost all its dealings, especially in recent years.
“Let’s be clear here: we are talking about women’s boxing,” Mr. Bach said on Saturday. “We have two boxers who were born women, grew up as women, have female passports and have competed as women for many years. That is the clear definition of women. There has never been any doubt that they are women.”
The International Boxing Federation, whose president is an acquaintance of Russian President Vladimir Putin, disqualified Ms. Khalif from the exam last year, saying the exam information was confidential.
“What we are seeing now is that some people want to define for themselves what a woman is,” Mr. Bach said. “I can only ask them to come up with a new definition of womanhood based on science; why can’t someone who is born, raised, competes and has a passport as a woman be considered a woman?
He added: “We will not engage in the culture wars that are sometimes politically motivated.”
The Associated Press reported the incident.
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