Boxer Imane Khelif dominant again in fight for gold medal

PARIS – Algerian boxer Imane Khelif qualified for the gold medal in the women’s welterweight class on Tuesday night by winning the semi-final at the Olympic Games in Paris. However, there are misunderstandings about her gender.

Khelif defeated Thailand’s Janjaem Suwannapheng 5-0 in the semifinals at Roland Garros, where the crowd roared and chanted her name throughout her three-round bout. Khelif has won three straight bouts in Paris and will win either a gold or silver medal when she completes the tournament on Friday.

Khelif had already won the first Algerian medal in women’s boxing when she entered the ring to loud cheers from Court Philippe Chatrier.

She controlled her fight with Suwannapheng, who took a standing 8-count late in the third after absorbing a series of punches. Khelif has won every round on every judges card in her two fights that have gone the distance in Paris.

After embracing Suwannapheng, Khelif celebrated her victory in the ring, running wildly around the spot and pumping her fists in the air as the crowd cheered her on.

With one more victory, Khelif would win Algeria’s second gold boxing medal, after Hocine Soltani (1996).

The end of Khelif’s first fight in Paris put her at the center of a global divide over gender identity and safety regulations in sports. Her first opponent, Angela Carini of Italy, surrendered in tears after just 46 seconds, saying she was in too much pain from Khelif’s punches.

Carini’s withdrawal from the fight prompted comments from former US President Donald Trump, Harry Potter author JK Rowling and others who falsely claimed that Khelif was male or transgender.

In an interview with SNTV, a sports video partner of The Associated Press, Khelif said the wave of hateful criticism she faces “harms human dignity” and called for an end to bullying of athletes.

Khelif also said she felt the “best response” to all the commotion around her would be to win a gold medal. And now she’s just one win away from that victory.

Khelif entered the ring against Suwannapheng to cheers that reverberated through the famous tennis arena. Roland Garros welcomed a high-profile turnout of Algerian fans who showed their national pride in a boxer whose stigmatization by the Olympic-banned International Boxing Association has been taken very personally in her country.

Both fighters came out aggressively, exchanging blows from distance. Khelif was more accurate as she won the first round on all five cards, and she repeated the feat in the second.

The fight became more physical in the third round, with Suwannapheng pushing forward to mount a comeback. The bout was stopped for a standing 8 count late in the third round when Suwannapheng took a pair of headbutts in succession, though Suwannapheng seemed to shrug it off as if it wasn’t necessary — as is often the case in Olympic boxing, where referees can stop a bout for relatively minor reasons.