Joe McConnell
Imane Khelif now it can be called a gold medalist… since it just defeated China Yang Liu in the women’s welterweight final at the Olympics: the first major placing ever for an Algerian boxer.
Khelif defeated Liu just minutes ago, dominating the entire three-round contest and ending what had been a controversial Olympic run.
The 25-year-old boxer has become one of the most controversial figures at the Paris Games… and it all stems from the International Boxing Association declaring her ineligible to compete in the 2023 championships after unspecified tests determined she had XY chromosomes.
His Olympics began with his opponent in the first round: Angela Carini — to withdraw after 46 seconds … saying she had never been hit by such a powerful punch.
“My face and nose hurt,” Carini said, according to the Italian sports daily Gazzetta dello Sport. “I couldn’t breathe. I thought about my family, looked at my brother in the stands and went to my corner to retire.”
Anna Luca Hamori — Khelif’s quarterfinal matchup — only fueled the fire when he posted a picture of Imane as a devil on his Instagram story. He would go on to defeat Hamori by unanimous decision.
Imane Khelif’s next opponent, Hungarian Luca Hamori, posted this on his ig story… so vile and disgusting photo.twitter.com/7P4e8roSSn
— hania ⵣ (@regrttes) August 2, 2024
@regrttes
She also took time to dealing with hate that was sent to her during these games… saying that bullying can destroy people.
AP
Khelif had previously said she hoped her loved ones wouldn’t be too affected by all the outrage surrounding her… and hoped that winning gold would make it all worth it, and it did.
