Paris Olympics 2024: Imane Khelif, the boxer at the center of the gender conflict, wins by unanimous decision.

SEINE-SAINT DENIS, FRANCE – Algeria’s Imane Khelif, boxing at the Olympics for the first time since becoming a global celebrity, defeated Hungary’s Anna Luca Hamori in the women’s 66kg quarterfinals at the Paris North Arena by unanimous decision. Khelif collapsed in tears as he left the ring, and said little after the fight other than dedicating the match to his native Algeria.

The media court at the Paris North Arena was packed beyond capacity, but with all due respect to the other 35 Olympians competing on Saturday evening, the world’s media was in a one-man arena. , and only one warrior. Khelif entered the arena with waves of excitement, jumping into the ring to the tune of “Jump Around.” Hamori, who was following him, was met with many boos as he made his way around the ring.

The two quickly hit the gloves and prepared for battle in the most intense event of the afternoon. Early in the first round of three, Khelif used his high reach out of Hamori’s line of fire. Hamori spent most of the first round as the opponent, while Khelif was more than content to trail and pick his spots. Heavy punches at the end of the first round kept the crowd engaged, and Khelif won the first round 10-9 on all five judges’ scorecards.

Khelif started landing more shots to start the second round, but Hamori was able to stay away. The crowd started chanting “I-MANE!” as the action ramped up, Khelif missed a few punches in the roundhouse. The fighters locked up a lot in the match, and Khelif was able to land a few deep kicks 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 he had to take the fight to Khelif and began to enter Khelif’s long range. That led to a clinch and fall to the canvas with 50 seconds left in the round. Khelif flinched, and Hamor knocked again and pulled both fighters down again. When the battle ended, Khelif struck Hamor again. The two hugged after the final bell.

Khelif, who has been the subject of constant attacks on social media for the past two days, knelt down and touched the canvas before leaving the ring. Then she swung onto her trainers shoulders as she walked down the field, her face wet with tears as she approached him.

Saturday’s fight was the latest chapter in the latest Olympic culture war, which erupted immediately after the first Olympic Games clash. On Thursday, Italian Angela Carini hit Khelif with two hard punches and left the fight after just 46 seconds.

After that fight, the suspension of Khelif in 2023 at the hands of the International Boxing Association and its president, Umar Kremlev of Russia, became part of the report. The IBA ruled that Khelif and Lin Yu-ting of Chinese Taipei, who are also competing at the Games, failed unspecified gender tests and banned them from the 2023 world championships, although the IBA did not attend specify exactly how the tests failed or how they selected. its results. Khelif was disqualified after handing Russia’s Azalia Amineva her career loss; the disqualification removed that loss from Amineva’s record.

Complicating matters further: the IBA and the International Olympic Committee are locked in a years-long war of words. The IOC severed ties with the IBA over concerns about the organization’s finances, refereeing and impartiality. In response, the IBA and the Kremlev criticized the IOC’s performance, ethics and integrity leading up to the Olympics. In another public relations move, the IBA said Friday it would pay Carini as if he were an Olympic champion.

Regardless of its veracity or intent, the IBA’s ruling – and Khelif’s swift victory – were all that many online commentators needed to deliver clear, and often wrong, judgments. complete, about Khelif, his eligibility and his biology.

“We are not very clear here. We are talking about women’s boxing,” IOC president Thomas Bach said Saturday a few hours before the Khelif fight. “We have two boxers born as women. [sic], raised as a woman, holding passports as a woman, and arguing for years as a woman. This is officially the definition of a woman. There was never any doubt that they were women.”

Hamori, Khelif’s rival, became involved in the stirring controversy. He said before the fight: “I’m not afraid, “If it’s a man, it will be a big victory for me if I win. So let’s do it. It will be a great fight and I hope it will be my day. I can’t wait.

He also expressed that he did not understand Carini’s decision to leave the fight early. “It was his choice,” Hamori said: “I don’t understand because I thought every boxer’s mentality was the same as mine: Never give up. I know that I’ve always wanted to do this.”

Hamori posted a photo on her Instagram story showing a young female warrior facing off against a giant creature, along with the announcement that she “(doesn’t) care about stories, what’s happening on social media right now . I just want to focus on me and I know why I came here. I want to get a medal from the Olympics. I’m going to go to the ring I will get my victory.”

In the mixed area from the stadium floor, Khelif walked past a large crowd of journalists, paused to speak and, according to translators, dedicated the fight to his native Algeria. As the cameras panned around him, he quickly turned his back and left the scene.

A few minutes later, Hamori expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to fight in the Olympics, without naming his opponent.

Hamori said: “I am proud of myself because I had to fight.” “This was a tough fight, but I think I had to do everything I wanted to do before the fight. I think it was good [sic] war. I am proud of myself and very grateful to be here. This was a very good competition for me. That was a childhood dream, so I’m happy. I wish my opponents and others the best of luck until the end.”

Next to Hamori, Balázs Fürjes, the Hungarian member of the IOC, read a statement about the fight and the events of the day. “We are 100 percent sure that every match must be decided on the field, (in) this case in the ring,” he said. “So it was never an option… not to fight.”

Fürjes did not explain more, but it seems that Hungary has not considered 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 the Hungarian Olympic committee.

“We are 100% sure that the International Olympic Committee will make the right decisions,” Fürjes said.

Khelif is now scheduled to fight at 10:34 pm Paris time on Aug. 6. in the Olympic final. His opponent will be Janjaem Suwannapheng from Thailand. In the 2023 World Championships, it was in Suwannapheng that Khelif won the semifinals 5-0 but the result was overturned when the IBA suspended Khelif. Suwannapheng entered the finals, where he was defeated by Yang Liu of China.