The case of Imane Khelif became one of the most talked about topics of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games after it was revealed that the previous year she had been disqualified from the World Championships for not having passed “gender eligibility tests,” according to the newspaper El Español. Despite this, the boxer continues to amaze the world in France, because this Friday she beat the Thai, Janjaem Suwannapheng, on points, and will compete in the final in the up to 66 kilo category for the gold medal.
The 25-year-old fighter dominated her fight against her 23-year-old opponent from start to finish, and the scorecards are a faithful reflection of that, as all five judges gave her the win in all three rounds. Four people judged it with a margin of 30-27 and the other 30-26 to secure her ticket to the final and increase her personal record to 39 wins (5 KOs) and 9 losses (none by knockout). She celebrated by raising her arms and waving her finger with a brief dance in the middle of the ring.
According to the specialized website Box Rec, her first official boxing record dates back to October 12, 2018 with a victory over the Thai Anusara Dusanthia. She became world runner-up in 2022 and sought to improve in 2023, but the International Boxing Association (IBA), in charge of the event, removed her from the competition alongside Taiwanese Lin Yu-ting because the tests carried out showed a “testosterone level higher than the average level for women,” as detailed by La Gazzetta dello Sport.
The controversy surrounding this issue led the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, to express his opinion: “Let us be very clear: we are talking about women’s boxing, these are two boxers who were born women, who grew up as women, who have a women’s passport and who have competed for many years as women.”
Imane’s father, Omar Khelif, gave an interview to the AFP agency, where he showed the young woman’s “identity documents” and “birth certificate” in the midst of her participation in the Olympics: “My daughter is a girl. She was raised as a girl. She is a strong girl, I raised her to work and be brave.” “God willing, she will honor us with a gold medal and raise the national flag in Paris,” he added.
The International Boxing Association has defended its position on the cases of Lin and Khelif through statements by the director and former president of the Medical Committee, Ioannis Filippatos: “According to the medical result and the blood result, the laboratory says that these boxers are men. We have two blood tests with a male karyotype. This is the laboratory’s response.”
Imane Khelif has already expressed her concern about the hostility she has faced since her participation in the Olympic Games during an interview with SNTV: “I am sending a message to all peoples of the world to respect the Olympic principles and the Olympic charter, to refrain from harassing athletes, because this has consequences, huge consequences.” “It can destroy people, it can kill people’s thoughts, spirit and mind, it can divide people, and that is why I am asking you to refrain from harassing,” she said.
In her presentation, rival Angela Carini retired after feeling a strong blow to her face before the first minute of the fight. Later, the finalist had to fight the three minutes of the three rounds to take the victories against Anna Hámori and Janjaem Suwannapheng, both by unanimous decision. She will go for the gold medal this Friday at 17:51 (Argentine time) against the Chinese Yang Liu.
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