Paris: Algeria’s Imane Khelif has stormed into the women’s welterweight boxing final at the Paris Olympics 2024 after beating Thailand’s Janjaem Suwannapheng in a unanimous decision by the judges.
Imane has progressed to her first Olympic final, having been knocked out in the quarterfinals in Tokyo three years ago. She will fight Liu Yang of China in the gold medal bout, bidding to become Algeria’s first boxing gold medallist.
The 25-year-old has been at the centre of a significant controversy regarding gender-based eligibility that also involves Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting.
The Algerian is one of two boxers competing in Paris despite being disqualified from last year’s World Championships by the International Boxing Association (IBA) after she was reported to have failed gender eligibility tests.
Khelif, along with Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, was previously disqualified from last year’s Women’s World Championships after failing gender eligibility tests conducted by the Russia-led International Boxing Association (IBA). The IBA had stripped both athletes of their medals and barred them from participating in the women’s competition to maintain fairness.
However, both boxers have now been cleared to compete in the Olympics, as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) bases gender eligibility on the athlete’s passport gender.
Khelif’s campaign in Paris began with a win against Angela Carini last week – a fight that lasted just 46 seconds before the Italian abandoned, saying she “had to preserve her life”.
This caused a great deal of controversy regarding Khelif’s and Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting’s eligibility, who was also ruled ineligible by the IBA in the previous year.
IANS