Imane Khelif steps into boxing ring after days of gender outrage

VILLEPINTE, France — Algerian boxer Imane Khelif will return to the ring at the Paris Olympics on Saturday after days of intense criticism and online abuse as misconceptions about her gender escalated into a larger conflict about identity in the sport.

Khelif will face Anna Luca Hamori of Hungary, whose boxing association had planned a confrontation with the International Olympic Committee but allowed the bout to take place anyway, in the quarterfinals of the women’s 66-kg fight.

If Khelif wins, the veteran amateur will secure Algeria’s seventh Olympic boxing medal, the first since 2000 and the country’s first in women’s boxing history. Before the fight, Algerians waved flags in the crowd and chanted Khelif’s name, even as other boxers fought.

She won the first fight on Thursday when opponent Angela Carini of Italy tearfully withdrew after just 46 seconds. The unusual ending became a sharp wedge that drove a sharp divide over gender identity and regulation in the sport, prompting comments from the likes of former U.S. President Donald Trump, “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling and others who falsely claimed Khelif was a man or transgender.

During the inclusive Paris Olympics, which sparked outrage after drag queens performed at the opening ceremony, LGBTQ+ groups said hateful comments could pose a threat to their community and athletes.

IOC President Thomas Bach on Saturday defended Khelif and fellow boxer Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan. Khelif and Lin were disqualified from last year’s world championships by the International Boxing Association, the now-banned former governing body for Olympic boxing, for what it said were failed qualifying tests for women’s competitions.

Both organisations have competed in IBA events for several years without incident, and the Russian-dominated organisation, which has been at odds with the IOC for years over judging scandals, management decisions and financial problems, has refused to provide any information about the tests, underscoring a lack of transparency in almost every aspect of its operations, particularly in recent years.

“Let’s be clear: We’re talking about women’s boxing,” Bach said Saturday. “We have two boxers who were born as women, raised as women, have a passport as women and have been competing as women for many years. And that is the clear definition of a woman. There was never any doubt that they were women.”

The IBA, which was handed the unprecedented penalty of being banned from the 2019 Olympics after years of conflict with the IOC, disqualified Khelifa last year for what it concluded was elevated testosterone levels.

The IBA, headed by an acquaintance of Russian President Vladimir Putin, did not disclose details of the tests, calling the entire process confidential.

“We now see that some people want to have their own definition of what a woman is,” Bach added. “And I can only invite them to create a new, science-based definition of what a woman is, and how can someone who was born, raised, competed and has a passport as a woman not be considered a woman?

“If they come up with something, we’re ready to listen,” Bach added. “We’re ready to investigate, but we won’t participate in what’s sometimes a politically motivated culture war.”

Khelif is fighting for a chance to win at least a bronze medal at her second Olympics after failing to win a medal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

Lin, also a two-time Olympian, will win her first medal on Sunday if she beats Bulgarian Svetlana Staneva. Lin won her first bout on Friday, beating Sitora Turdibekova of Uzbekistan.

Amid the criticism, both Khelif and Lin received only standing ovations from the crowd at the North Paris Arena.

“What is happening in this context on social media, with all this hate speech, with all this aggression and abuse, and what is fueled by this agenda, is completely unacceptable,” Bach said.

The reduced field of competitors at the Paris boxing tournament — which has the fewest boxers since 1956 — means many fighters can win medals with just two wins. Boxing awards two bronze medals in each weight class, meaning every semi-finalist wins a medal.

In Paris, gender parity was achieved for the first time in Olympic history, with 124 men and 124 women invited to compete, just 12 years after women’s boxing made its Olympic debut.