Algeria’s Khelif clinches medal in Paris amid outcry

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif of Algeria has clinched a medal at the Paris Olympics in an emotional fight following days of sharp scrutiny and online abuse.

Misconceptions about her gender have exploded into a larger clash about identity in sports at the Games.

Khelif defeated Anna Luca Hamori of Hungary 5-0 in the quarterfinals of the women’s 66-kilogram bout.

Khelif will win at least a bronze medal – there are no bronze medal bouts in boxing – after defeating Hamori on her tumultuous second trip to the Olympics.

Hungary’s boxing association said it planned to contest the matchup with the International Olympic Committee but still let the fight go ahead.

Khelif, 25, has had plenty of other detractors too – including former US President Donald Trump and Italy Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni – after a disqualification on murky grounds at a previous event.

The banned and discredited International Boxing Association (IBA) claimed she failed an unspecified eligibility test at the world championships last year over elevated levels of testosterone.

She won her opening bout at the Paris Games on Thursday when opponent Angela Carini of Italy tearfully abandoned the fight after just 46 seconds.

Carini fueled acrimony by saying she received the hardest punch of her life, before singing the following day, offering apologies and admitting she was upset to exit the Games.

In the run-up to the quarter-final, Hamoni made her feelings plain by sharing on Instagram a cartoon of a slender female boxer standing in the ring with a mighty beast, complete with horns.

On Saturday (local), Khelif fought aggressively from the opening bell, snapping a crisp left jab while the fighters circled.

Her fans chanted her first name repeatedly midway through the opening round, and she bounded forward to throw a combination.

The exhausted fighters had a halfhearted hug after the bell, touching fists and exchanging smiles right before the verdict was announced.

They touched hands again when Khelif held down the ropes to allow Hamori to leave the ring in a traditional boxing gesture of sportsmanship.

Khelif’s win was emotional — she went to the center of the ring, waved to her fans, knelt and slammed her palm on the canvas, her a smile turning to tears.

She left the ring to hug her coaches while her fans roared, weeping during their embrace and as she walked out.

IOC President Thomas Bach on Saturday defended Khelif and fellow boxer Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan, who was also disqualified at the 2023 world championships on similar grounds.

“Let’s be very clear here: We are talking about women’s boxing,” Bach said.

“We have two boxers who are born as a woman, who have been raised as a woman, who have a passport as a woman, and who have competed for many years as women.

“This is the clear definition of a woman. There was never any doubt about them being a woman.”

Khelif, who had failed to medal in Tokyo, will face Janjaem Suwannapheng of Thailand in the 66kg semifinals on Tuesday (local) at Roland Garros.

Suwannpheng, a silver medalist at last year’s world championships, upset defending Olympic champion Busenaz Surmeneli a few minutes before Khelif’s victory.

Lin, also a two-time Olympian, will also clinch her first medal Sunday if she beats Svetlana Staneva of Bulgaria.

Amid the scrutiny, both Khelif and Lin have received only cheers from the crowds at North Paris Arena.

The reduced field at the Paris Olympics boxing tournament — which has the fewest number of total boxers since 1956 — means that many fighters can clinch medals with just two victories.