Imane Khelif, the Algerian boxer alleged to have male chromosomes, defeated Hungarian fighter Anna Luca Haroni on Saturday by unanimous decision in an emotionally charged bout as Khelif’s quest for Olympic gold continues.
The Algerian began the week by defeating Italian fighter Angela Carini in only 46 seconds. The fight against Haroni wasn’t finished that quickly, though, once again, Khelif emerged the clear winner.
The victory assures Khelif advancement to the semifinal round.
Controversy has surrounded both Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-Ting, who were barred from IBA-sanctioned events in 2023 because they did not satisfy the gender testing required by the organization’s latest rules.
In 2023, the International Boxing Association (IBA) President Umar Kremlev explained his organization’s decision to disqualify Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting and Algeria’s Imane Khelif from competing in the IBA’s 2023 Women’s World Boxing Championships, according to Russia’s Tass News Agency. “Based on DNA tests, we identified a number of athletes who tried to trick their colleagues into posing as women. According to the results of the tests, it was proved that they have XY chromosomes. Such athletes were excluded from competition,” Kremlev said.
On Saturday, Olympic chief Thomas Bach stressed that Khelif and YuTing are “a woman, a woman, a woman.”
Still, debate has raged online and among boxing officials about Khelif’s true gender. World Boxing Organization’s European Vice President István Kovács claims Khelif is a man and that his organization informed the International Olympic Committee (IOC) of that.
“The problem was not with the level of Khelif’s testosterone, because that can be adjusted nowadays, but with the result of the gender test, which clearly revealed that the Algerian boxer is biologically male,” Kovács said in an interview with Magyar Nemzet, via Reduxx. Kovács added that, in addition to Khelif and Yu-Ting, five fighters were found to be indeed men.”
The 5-0 victory over Haroni ensures that Khelif will win at least a bronze medal.
Before the match, Haroni showed no fear of Khelif.
“I’m not scared,” Hamori told reporters. “I don’t care about the press story and social media. If she or he is a man, it will be a bigger victory for me if I win.”
After the victory, Khelif remains a strong favorite to win gold.
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