Paris 2024 Olympics: Imane Khelif, boxer at the centre of gender controversy, wins by unanimous decision

SEINE-SAINT DENIS, FRANCE — Algeria’s Imane Khelif, competing at the Olympics for the first time since she rose to global fame and speculation, defeated Hungary’s Anna Luca Hamori by unanimous decision in the quarterfinals of the women’s 66 kg event at the Paris North Arena. Khelif broke down in tears as she left the ring and said little after the fight other than to dedicate the match to her native Algeria.

The media gallery at the Paris North Arena was packed, but with all due respect to the other 35 Olympians fighting Saturday night, the world’s media in the arena was there for one fighter, and one fighter only. Khelif entered the arena to cheers and leaped into the ring to the tune of “Jump Around.” Hamori, who followed, was met with even more boos as she made her way around the ring.

The two quickly tapped their gloves and prepared to fight in the afternoon’s most energetic event. Early in the first of three rounds, Khelif used her superior reach to stay out of Hamori’s line of fire. Hamori spent most of the first round as the aggressor, while Khelif was largely content to stay back and pick her spots. A flurry of punches at the end of the first round kept the crowd riveted, and Khelif won the first round 10-9 on all five of the judges’ cards.

Khelif began to throw more punches to start the second round, but Hamori was able to keep his distance. The crowd began to chant “I-MANE!” as the action got underway, with Khelif narrowly missing several roundhouse punches. The fighters found themselves tied several times in the round, with Khelif landing several serious jabs to Hamori’s chin. The second round also went to Khelif, 10-9 on four cards and 10-8 on one.

In the third round, Hamori knew she had to take the fight to Khelif and began to get within Khelif’s range. This led to a clinch and a fall to the canvas about 50 seconds into the round. Khelif shook off a jab, and then Hamori clamped down again and pulled both fighters back to the ground. As the fight was coming to an end, Khelif punched Hamori again. The two embraced after the final bell.

Khelif, who has been the subject of relentless attacks on social media for the past two days, knelt and touched the canvas before leaving the ring, then slumped against the shoulders of her coaches as she walked off the arena floor, her face wet with tears as the moment caught up with her.

Saturday’s match was the latest chapter in the Olympics’ latest culture war, which erupted immediately after Khelif’s first match of the Games. On Thursday, Italy’s Angela Carini took two hard punches to the face from Khelif and gave up the fight after just 46 seconds.

After that bout, Khelif’s 2023 suspension by the International Boxing Association and its president, Umar Kremlev of Russia, became part of the story. The IBA ruled that Khelif and Lin Yu-ting of Chinese Taipei, who is also competing in those Games, had failed unspecified gender tests and disqualified them from the 2023 world championships, though the IBA did not specify exactly which tests were failed or how the results were determined. Khelif was disqualified after inflicting her only career loss on Russia’s Azalia Amineva; the disqualification took that loss off Amineva’s record.

To complicate matters, the IBA and the International Olympic Committee have been locked in a war of words for years. The IOC severed ties with the IBA over concerns about the organization’s finances, evaluation and impartiality. In response, the IBA and Kremlev have criticized the IOC’s operations, ethics and fairness leading up to the Olympics. In a further public relations move, the IBA said on Friday that it would pay Carini as if she were an Olympic champion.

Regardless of its authenticity or motivations, the IBA’s ruling – and Khelif’s swift victory – were all it took for many online commentators to make sweeping, and often completely incorrect, judgments about Khelif, her fitness, and her biology.

“Let’s be very clear here. We are talking about women’s boxing,” IOC President Thomas Bach said Saturday, hours before Khelif’s match. “We have two boxers who were born as women (sic), raised as women, who have a passport as women and have been competing as women for years. That is the legal definition of a woman. There was never any doubt that they were women.”

Hamori, Khelif’s opponent, leaned into the swirling controversy. “I’m not afraid,” she said ahead of the fight. “If she or he is a man, it will be a bigger victory for me if I win. So let’s do it. It’s going to be a great fight and I hope it’s my day. I can’t wait.”

She also said she didn’t understand Carini’s decision to retire from her fight so early. “It was her choice,” Hamori said. “I don’t understand it because I thought every boxer thinks the same as me: never give up. I know I always wanted to do this.”

Hamori posted a photo to her Instagram story showing a young female fighter taking on a monstrously large creature, along with a statement that she “doesn’t care about the stories, what’s happening on social media right now. I just want to focus on myself and I know why I came here. I want to get a medal from the Olympics. So I don’t care. I’m going to the ring and I’m going to win.”

In the mixed zone, away from the arena floor, Khelif walked past a huge crowd of journalists, stopping only briefly to speak and, according to translators, dedicate the fight to her home country of Algeria. As the cameras swarmed around her, she quickly stepped back and left the zone.

A few minutes later, Hamori expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to fight at the Olympics, without naming her opponent.

“I’m so proud of myself because I had to fight,” Hamori said. “This was a tough fight, but I think I was able to do everything I wanted to do for the fight. I think it was a good (sic) fight. I’m so proud of myself and I’m so thankful to be here. This was a really good competition for me. That was a childhood dream, so I’m happy. I wish my opponents and others good luck in the final.”

Next to Hamori, Balázs Fürjes, a Hungarian member of the IOC, read a statement about the fight and the events of that day. “We are 100 percent convinced that every match must be decided on the field of play, (in) this case in the ring,” he said. “That’s why it was never an option … not to fight.”

Fürjes did not elaborate on the matter, but it appears that Hungary does not consider the issue of Khelif’s participation in the Olympics closed. The Hungarian Boxing Federation said on Friday that it plans to send formal letters of protest to the IOC and the Hungarian Olympic Committee.

“We are 100 percent convinced that the International Olympic Committee will make the right decisions,” said Fürjes.

Khelif is now scheduled to fight at 10:34 p.m. Paris time on August 6 in the Olympic semifinals. Her opponent is Thailand’s Janjaem Suwannapheng. At the 2023 World Championships, Suwannapheng defeated Khelif 5-0 in the semifinals, but the result was overturned when the IBA suspended Khelif. Suwannapheng advanced to the final, where she lost to China’s Yang Liu.