By Tom Morgan and Oliver Brown, at Paris Nord Arena
Imane Khelif, the Algerian boxer engulfed in the Olympic gender row, cried “I am a woman” after easily-winning another bout to guarantee a medal.
In raucous, emotionally-charged scenes at Paris Nord Arena, 600 French-Algerians ferociously cheered another victory for the controversy-stricken fighter. Khelif was overcome with emotion, crying uncontrollably after the unanimous decision victory over Hungarian Luca Anna Hamori.
She sank to her knees, pretending to write her name on the canvas, but then refused to stop for most questions from a pack of 300 assembled journalists. “I feel good,” she initially told the BBC. “It’s the first medal for a woman from Algeria. I’m very happy. I want to thank all the world, the Arabic world. Thank you so much.”
She then added to Algerian TV: “I dominated. I dedicate this victory to the people of Algeria.”
She later swept through the media mixed zone, fighting back tears with an Algerian flag wrapped around her back. After she stopped very briefly, Algerian reporters claimed she declared: “I want to tell the entire world that I am a woman, and I will remain a woman.”
Khelif is one of two fighters banned from last year’s World Championships by the International Boxing Association (IBA) for twice failing gender eligibility tests. The 25-year-old has been at the centre of a global storm after her previous bout lasted just 46 seconds. This time, Khelif went the full three rounds on Saturday against an opponent whose federation had warned of potential legal action.
Speaking in Arabic as she boarded a coach back to the Olympic Village in dark glasses, Khelif thanked the IOC for supporting her. “I am grateful to the IOC who spoke the truth,” she said. “I am very proud to represent Algeria. Thanks to God, this is the first women’s medal for boxing in Algeria. In the Olympics there are no easy passes. Hopefully I will be ready for the next match for my country that I love so much. And I hope it will be a good one for the next generation.”
Despite sharing a photograph portraying Khelif as a beast ahead of the fight, Hamori was conciliatory afterwards in defeat, refusing to criticise Olympic gender rules. “I’m so proud of myself because I had to fight and I tried to win,” she said. “That was my childhood dream.”
She added that “it was a very hard day for both of us” but “I wish good luck to Khelif in the future.”
Hamori was flanked by Balázs Fürjes, a Hungarian member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), who also attempted to temper criticism. “These consequences must be carefully evaluated after the Games,” was his only thinly veiled criticism of Khelif’s involvement.
In the days since her fight against Italy’s Angela Carini, Khelif has been subject to a torrent of criticism, some of it falsely assuming she is transgender.
Hamori herself had stoked the fire before the fight, saying she would fight her regardless of whether she was a man. But the two shared no less than three embraces after the fight, before Khelif celebrated with the large Algerian contingent in the crowd and subsequently broke down into tears as she left the arena.
Earlier, Khelif’s father – tracked down by the Reuters news agency in Algeria – had said attacks against her were immoral. “Imane is a little girl that has loved sport since she was six-years-old,” said Amar Khelif.
Thomas Bach, president of the IOC, had also waded into the row around Khelif and Lin Yu-ting, saying “There was never any doubt about them being a woman.”
However, Bach misspoke by wrongly denying the pair had differences in sex development (DSD). “This is not a DSD case, this is about a woman taking part in a women’s competition, and I think I have explained this many times,” he said, sparking confusion.
The IOC then immediately issued a correction on its social-media feeds, saying he instead meant to say “this is not a transgender case”.
Lin fights her quarter-final bout on Sunday, while Khelif’s semi-final – which guarantees her at least a bronze – takes place on Tuesday against Thailand’s Janjaem Suwannapheng.
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