Algerian boxer Imane Khelif crowned Olympic champion despite criticism of her gender

Stronger than the controversy. Algerian boxer Imane Khelif won the Olympic title in the under 66 kg category on Friday, August 9, after her victory against Chinese Liu Yang in the ring at Roland-Garros. She thus brings the second medal, all gold, to her delegation after that won by gymnast Kaylia Nemour on the uneven bars.

Against her, her opponent never found the solution, finally losing by unanimous decision of the judges on each of the three rounds (5-0). Enough to delight the public present in the stands covered with Algerian flags. The 25-year-old athlete did not fail to celebrate his golden trinket after greeting Liu Yang.

During the Paris Games tournament, Imane Khelif received a lot of criticism, being accused of being a man fighting in the women’s category. In the first round, the Italian Angela Carini gave up against her in the first seconds of their fight, thus bringing back the story of the Algerian’s exclusion from the 2023 World Championships in New Delhi on the grounds, according to the International Boxing Federation (IBA), that she had failed a test intended to establish her gender.

She had previously participated in many women’s competitions, including the Tokyo Olympics, without her participation causing controversy. For the International Olympic Committee (IOC), however, her eligibility is not in doubt. This controversy, against a backdrop of execrable relations between the IOC and the IBA, has become global with an outpouring of online comments against the presence in Paris of the Algerian champion. Hostile reactions have also come from conservative figures such as the President of the Italian Council Giorgia Meloni and former US President Donald Trump.