Khelif delights newfound devotees

She becomes the first Algerian woman to win an Olympic boxing title

PARIS:

Algeria's Imane Khelif, the female boxer thrust into the centre of a gender dispute at the Paris Games, made a statement on her womanhood after beating China's Yang Liu to take the welterweight Olympic gold medal, sending her newfound devotees into delirium on Friday.

Khelif, silver medallist at the 2022 World Championships, and Taiwan boxer Lin Yu-ting have been in the spotlight as part of a gender dispute in Paris that has dominated headlines and been the subject of much discussion on social media platforms.

Khelif, who won by unanimous decision, is the first Algerian woman to earn an Olympic boxing title and the first boxer from her country to claim gold since Hocine Soltani at Atlanta 1996.

Women's boxing has been in the Olympics since London 2012. "This is my dream. Eight years, my dream. I'm Olympic champion, gold medallist. I'm very happy. Eight years, I work," Khelif, 25, said.

"Eight years, no sleep. Eight years, tired. Now I'm Olympic champion. I'm very happy. I want to thank all the people come to support me. People, Algeria, and all the people, Paris.

"This gold medal is the best answer to the fierce campaign against me."

Responding to the controversy surrounding her, Khelif told a press conference: "I am a woman like any woman. I was born a woman and I have lived as a woman, but there are enemies to success and they can't digest my success."

Her defeated opponent Yang said: "I'm happy for her. I respect everybody and I will even learn from her (boxing wise)."

Janjaem Suwannapheng of Thailand and Taiwan's Chen Nien-chin were awarded bronze. Khelif and double world champion Lin were disqualified by the International Boxing Association (IBA) from the 2023 World Championships, with the body saying at a press conference during the Paris Games that a gender test had ruled them ineligible.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is using boxing eligibility rules in Paris that were applied at the 2016 and 2021 Olympics and which do not include gender testing.