PARIS — Algerian boxer Imane Khelif won a gold medal at Paris Olympics after facing scrutiny over misconceptions about her sex.
Khelif beat Yang Liu of China in a unanimous decision from all five judges, who scored the bout in her favor for all three rounds.
The controversy stems from Khelif and Li Yu-ting of Taiwan getting disqualified from last year’s world championships by the Russian-dominated International Boxing Association, which claims both fighters failed a murky eligibility test for women’s competition.
Khelif has said the best response to the worldwide scrutiny she has faced over misconceptions about her gender is to win a gold medal, and she has done it. And she did it in front of a crowd that chanted her name throughout the entire three-round bout. She bumped fists with her opponent and waved her arm in triumph.
She took a few poses for the cameras before jumping into her coaches’ arms. One put her on his shoulders and is carrying her around the arena as she pumps her fists. She grabs an Algerian flag from someone in the crowd for her victory lap.
Khelif has won the Olympic gold medal.
The Algerian won in a unanimous decision.
All five judges scored the bout in her favor for all three rounds.
Khelif did not lose a round on any scorecards in the run to her Olympic goal medal
Khelif is leading after two rounds.
All five judges have scored both rounds in Khelif’s favor.
Her Chinese opponent Yang Liu needs a huge third round.
Khelif lands a series of punches at the start of the second round and the crowd is going wild. She looks in control so far.
All five judges scored the first round in favor of Khelif.
Khelif is yet to lose a round on any scorecards so far in Paris.
Scoring of the Olympic bouts is released round by round.
There’s one fan wearing an Algerian flag on his feet leading the crowd around him in a chant, almost like an orchestra director, they’re following his lead.
The crowd roared whenever Khelif landed punches and repeatedly chanted her first name, “Imane! Imane! Imane!”
Khelif’s gold-medal bout against Yang is underway. The Algerian boxer, who has faced waves of online abuse and scrutiny tied to misconceptions about her gender, has a chance to end her tumultuous Paris Olympics journey as a champion.
Khelif jogs into the arena with supporters jumping up and down and chanting her name.
There were boos when her opponent, Yang Liu of China, came out. People are excitedly pumping their fists as the Algerian boxer is officially introduced.
Phones are raised here at Roland Garros. People are on their feet. The crowd is the loudest it has been all night for one reason: Imane Khelif is coming up next
Another Uzbek fighter wins gold. This time it’s Lazizbek Mullojonov, who beat Loren Berto Alfonso of Azerbaijan 5:0 in the men’s 92-kg final.
Khelif is up next. The program looks to be running about 10 minutes behind schedule.
Some have also made it clear that they’re here simply to show up for Khelif, whether she wins tonight or not.
Agnes Lipeb, who’s from Versailles, France, said she has no idea how boxing rules work, but she’s here to cheer for Khelif and have fun.
“I feel like the mistreatment and the bullying that she received from the whole world is just insane,” Lipeb said. “And I feel like she needs more love than ever. She already has a medal. It can be gold. It can be silver, but if it’s gold, that’s great.”
Algerian flags have been lifted throughout Roland Garros all evening from supporters here to watch Imane Khelif fight for gold.
The crowd is energetic, with a large amount of Mexican supporters also here to cheer on Marco Verde, who took silver earlier this evening.
There’s one last fight taking place before Khelif comes out for the finale.
Algerians have started chanting “1-2-3, Vive L’Algerie” in front of La Grande Poste in Algiers in a gathering reminiscent of the recent pro-democracy protests that swept the country five years ago.
Men, women and children are huddled around a giant projection screen as musicians played traditional tambourines and flutes.
Nadia Kacem, a mother of two, said she was excited to share in the moment “of goodness, sisterhood and women’s sports.”
The gathering had both Algerians and members of the country’s vast European diaspora who return to North Africa from countries like Belgium and France each summer.
Boxing is being run at the Paris Olympics by a team appointed by the International Olympic Committee.
That’s because it doesn’t trust the Russian-dominated International Boxing Association, which is the sport’s global governing body.
And that’s not new.
The IOC has cut the IBA out of Olympic organizing duties for the second straight Summer Games.
The IOC took the unprecedented step last year of permanently banning the IBA from the Olympics following years of concerns about its governance, competitive fairness and financial transparency.
The IOC has called the arbitrary sex tests that the sport’s governing body imposed on Khelif and another boxer irretrievably flawed.
And that’s not all.
There’s a breakaway governing body called World Boxing that is building support to become the IOC’s preferred partner to run boxing tournaments at the Los Angeles Games in 2028.
World Boxing members include the United States, England and Germany.
She’s no slouch.
The 32-year-old Chinese boxer is the 2023 world champion in the welterweight division.
Yang won the world title at the same competition that Khelif was disqualified from in New Delhi, India.
Wu Yu of China is an Olympic champion after defeating Buse Naz Cakiroglu of Turkey 4:1 in the women’s 50-kg final.
Imane Khelif is coming up after one more bout.
Roland Garros is the home of the French Open tennis tournament. It’s the Grand Slam that Rafael Nadal has won a record 14 times.
For the Paris Olympics, it’s also being used for the medal rounds of boxing, with the ring arranged on Court Philippe Chatrier. Capacity is nearly 15,000 for tennis.
It’s not the first time boxing has been staged at Roland Garros. There were bouts in 2021 — 75 years after French great Marcel Cerdan fought and won there.
Uzbekistan’s successful boxing run at the Paris Olympics continues.
One day after Hasanboy Dusmatov won gold in the men’s 51-kg division, Asadkhuja Muydinkhujaev defeats Marco Verde of Mexico 5:0 for gold in the men’s 71-kg final.
Khelif’s dad is nervous back in Algeria ahead of the big fight.
“We’re on edge,” Omar Khelif told The Associated Press. “I spoke to Imane this morning and she’s focused on optimistic. She’s a fighter.”
In her hometown Ain Mesbah, her family is preparing for a large public screening.
One of Khelif’s early coaches told The Associated Press that her success has been the result of years of hard work in difficult circumstances.
Mustapha Bensaou of the gym where Khelif learned to box said Friday’s match would go down in history in Tiaret, where men were painting a mural of Khelif in 45 degree Celcius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) weather.
“Imane has managed to turn the criticism and attacks on her femininity into fuel,” Bensaou said. “The slander has given her a boost…It’s a bit of a blessing in disguise.”
The coach said he was optimistic about Khelif’s chances and compared her to other Algerian women who’ve taken home the gold, including Hassiba Boulmerka, the track star who won the 1,500 meters in 1992 amid scrutiny and death threats from Islamists in the early days of the Algerian Civil War.
“She will be the first woman to offer Algeria a gold medal in boxing, god willing,” he said.
Several hours before the start of Khelif’s gold-medal bout, women arrived at Roland Garros wrapped in Algerian flags, many with no interest in boxing, but with the sole aim at supporting their compatriot.
Sarah Dayan didn’t know who Khelif was before the Olympics but saw the controversy online and said she wanted to show up for her.
“I’m super happy that she got here, and I’m here to support her because she needs it, and she needs women to support her,” Dayan said.
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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
