Imane Khelif into gold medal fight amid Olympic boxing gender controversy
Imane Khelif’s journey at the Paris Olympics has continued onto a chance to lift a gold medal after dominating Thai opponent Janjaem Suwannapheng on Tuesday evening
Imane Khelif has reached the Olympic boxing final after beating Janjaem Suwannapheng.
The Algerian took on her Thai opponent on Tuesday evening in Paris having already guaranteed herself at least a bronze medal. And she could earn even more having found a route past Suwannapheng.
Khelif dominated throughout the opening two rounds of the bout. She won every judge's scorecard from the first round, and after landing a few impressive hits in the second, did exactly the same.
Suwannapheng had to go for broke in the final round buit failed to knockout her opponent, which allowed Khelif to waltz to victory. She now heads into Friday's final and will take on either Chen Nien-chin or Yang Liu.
Khelif has been at the heart of ongoing controversy at the Olympics. Her opening round fight with Italian rival Angela Carini was abandoned after less than a minute.
That led to many questioning her eligibility in the championships - particularly in the wake of the International Boxing Association disqualifying her from competition in 2023. Khelif was one of two female fighters to fail an unspecified gender test during last year's world championships in Delhi.
However, the IBA are no longer recognised as amateur boxing's governing body due to concerns over finances, governance, ethics, refereeing and judging. And due to the International Olympic Committee having different eligibility criteria, she was free to fight in Paris.
Khelif, 25, beat Carini in her opening round before overcoming Anna Luca Hamori in the quarter-finals. Speaking ahead of her semi-final clash with Suwannapheng, she asked for empathy and for her critics to refrain from the incredible levels of hostility directed towards her.
"I send a message to all the people of the world to uphold the Olympic principles and the Olympic Charter, to refrain from bullying all athletes, because this has effects, massive effects.
"It can destroy people, it can kill people's thoughts, spirit and mind. It can divide people. And because of that, I ask them to refrain from bullying.
"I am in contact with my family two days a week. I hope that they weren't affected deeply. They are worried about me. God willing, this crisis will culminate in a gold medal, and that would be the best response."
Khelif’s latest success comes after IBA president Umar Kremlev launched a bizarre rant at both her and Lin-Yu ting, who had also failed a gender test. Speaking in a press conference, he said: “The tests show they were men.
“We don’t verify what they have between their legs. We don’t know if they were born like that, or if some changes were made. The second tests confirmed the first tests. If people have doubts, refer to them. They can make their own tests.”
Khelif’s Dad has also attempted to intervene over the last few days. According to Mail Online, he shared a document that confirmed his daughter had been born a female.
Her semi-final opponent Suwannapheng had said before the bout: “Imane is a little girl that has loved sport since she was six-years-old, she used to play football. These critics and rumours aim to destabilise Imane, they don't want her to be the champion of the world.
“I tell her prove them wrong in the ring and I hope that she will honour Algeria and Arabic countries and win the gold medal. She is our role model, and we want to be like her and honour Algeria and Tiaret.”
Follow all the action on day 11 of the Paris Olympics with Mirror Sport's live blog
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