SEINE-SAINT DENIS, FRANCE — Algeria’s Imane Khelif, boxing in the Olympics for the first time since she became a worldwide subject of notoriety and speculation, defeated Hungary’s Anna Luca Hamori in the women’s 66kg quarterfinals at Paris North Arena via unanimous decision. Khelif collapsed in sobs as she left the ring, and said little after the fight beyond dedicating the match to her native Algeria.
The media tribune at Paris North Arena was filled beyond capacity, but with all due respect to the other 35 Olympians fighting Saturday evening, the world media was in the arena for one fighter, and one fighter only. Khelif entered the arena to waves of cheers, leaping into the ring to the tune of “Jump Around.” Hamori, following her, was hit with far more boos as she made her way around the ring.
The two quickly tapped gloves and prepared for the fight in the most energetic event of the afternoon. 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 blows at the end of the first round kept the crowd engaged, and Khelif won the first round 10-9 on all five judges’ cards.
Khelif began taking more shots to start the second round, but Hamori was able to keep distance. The crowd began a chant of “I-MANE!” as the action picked up pace, with Khelif narrowly missing on several roundhouse punches. The fighers clinched up multiple ties in the round, and Khelif was able to land 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 getting inside Khelif’s long reach. That led to a clinch and tumble to the canvas about 50 seconds into the round. Khelif shook off a jab, and then Hamori clinched again and pulled both fighters to the ground again. As the fight wrapped up, Khelif again battered Hamori. The two embraced after the final bell.
Khelif, who has been the subject of unrelenting social media attacks over the last two days, knelt and touched the canvas before she left the ring. Then she sagged against the shoulders of her coaches as she walked off the arena floor, her face wet with tears as the moment caught up to her.
Saturday’s bout was the latest chapter in the Olympics’ latest culture war, one that erupted immediately after Khelif’s first bout of the Games. On Thursday, Italy’s Angela Carini took two hard punches to the face from Khelif and abandoned the fight after just 46 seconds.
After that bout, Khelif’s 2023 suspension at the hands of the International Boxing Association and its president, Umar Kremlev of Russia, became part of the narrative. The IBA ruled that Khelif and Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yu-ting, who is also competing in these Games, had failed unspecified gender tests and disqualified them from the 2023 world championships, although the IBA did not specify exactly what tests were failed or how it determined its results. Khelif was disqualified after handing Russia’s Azalia Amineva her only career loss; the disqualification removed that loss from Amineva’s record.
Complicating matters further: the IBA and the International Olympic Committee have been locked in a years-long war of words. The IOC has severed ties with the IBA over concerns about the organization’s finances, judging and impartiality. In response, the IBA and Kremlev have criticized the operations, ethics and honesty of the IOC right up into these Olympics. As a further public relations jab, the IBA said Friday 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 that many online commentators needed to make sweeping, and often completely incorrect, judgments about Khelif, her eligibility and her biology.
“Let’s be very clear here. We are talking about women’s boxing,” IOC president Thomas Bach said Saturday a few hours before Khelif’s bout. “We have two boxers who were born as woman [sic], been raised as woman, who have passports as a woman, and who have competed for many years as woman. This is legally the definition of a woman. There was never any doubt about them being a woman.”
Hamori, Khelif’s opponent, leaned into the swirling controversy. “I am not scared,” she said prior to 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 will be my day. I can’t wait.”
She also indicated she didn’t understand Carini’s decision to quit her fight so early. “It was her choice,” Hamori said. “I don’t understand as I thought every boxer’s mind is the same as mine: Never give up. I know I have always wanted to do this.”
Hamori posted a pic on her Instagram story showing a young female fighter facing off against a monstrous hulking creature, along with a declaration that she “(doesn’t) care about the stories, what is going on the social media right now. I just want to stay focused on myself and I know why I came here. I want to get a medal from the Olympic Games. So I don’t care about anything. I will go to the ring and I will get my win.”
In the mixed zone away from the arena floor, Khelif walked past a massive crowd of journalists, stopping only briefly to speak and, according to translators, dedicate the fight to her home country of Algeria. When cameras swarmed around her, she quickly backed away and left the zone.
A few minutes later, Hamori expressed gratitude for the opportunity to fight in the Olympics, without naming her opponent by name.
“I’m so proud of myself because I had to fight,” Hamori said. “This was a hard fight, but I think I got to do everything I wanted to do before the fight. I think it was good [sic] fight. I’m so proud of myself and I’m so grateful to be here. This was a very good competition for me. That was a childhood dream, so I’m happy. I wish good luck to my opponents and others in the finals.”
Alongside Hamori, Balázs Fürjes, a Hungarian member of the IOC, read from a statement about the fight and the events of the day. “We are 100 percent convinced that every match has to be decided on the play field, (in) this case in the ring,” he said. “Therefore it was never an option … not to fight.”
Fürjes did not elaborate further, but the indication seemed to be that Hungary does not yet consider the matter of Khelif’s participation in the Olympics closed. The Hungarian Boxing Association said Friday it intends to send formal letters of protest to the IOC and Hungary’s Olympic committee.
“We are 100 percent convinced that the International Olympic Committee will make the right decisons,” Fürjes said.
Khelif is now scheduled to fight at 10:34 a.m. Paris time on Aug. 6 in the Olympic semifinals.
Source Agencies
