Joe McConnell
Imane Khelif defeated China’s Yang Liu by unanimous decision to advance to the Olympic welterweight final at Roland Garros in Paris.
The Algerian has been at the center of a furious dispute over her eligibility to compete in these Games, which has put her under tremendous pressure and scrutiny throughout the competition in the global media spotlight.
Despite this, she built a clear lead in the first two rounds of the 66kg final over China’s Yang, winning the gold medal by unanimous decision.
“I am very happy for this gold medal. The first gold medal for Africa and the Arab world. [for a woman in boxing],” he said.
“I want to thank everyone. This is my dream, now I’m very happy.”
Khelif’s swift victory over Italian Angela Carini has generated a storm of controversy
Khelif and Lin Yu-ting of Chinese Taipei both meet the IOC’s eligibility criteria, although they were both disqualified from the 2023 World Championships after the International Boxing Association (IBA) barred them from boxing in the women’s categories.
However, the nature of this admissibility test has not yet been specified and the IBA has a number of questions about its credibility that remain unanswered.
The body was banned from running the Olympic boxing tournament due to ongoing IOC concerns about alleged corruption, match-fixing and financial transparency. This prompted a fiercely hostile response, particularly from Umar Kremlev, the Russian who is the controversial president of the IBA.
Khelif had been subjected to vicious abuse, particularly on social media, prompting the IOC to condemn the torrent of threats and attacks. The boxer herself has publicly called for the bullying to stop, warning: “It can destroy people.”
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Khelif called for an end to online abuse
But in action in the arena, Khelif was celebrated. An electric crowd filled Roland Garros, with a contingent of Algerian supporters waving their national flags.
In the midst of all this, Yang landed with his left-handed jab and used a combination to land a strong left backhand.
But putting weight into her punches forced Yang to retreat. Khelif lunged forward and momentarily hit Yang against the ropes with a flurry. Yang leapt at her with a straight right and also landed a left.
But sweeping the first round put Khelif on the rise. Huge cheers erupted in the arena when Khelif landed, and Yang had to be more aggressive to get into the contest.
This however allowed the Algerian to start with the backhand.
Algeria’s Imane Khelif was at the centre of a dispute over her eligibility that engulfed the Olympic Games
Yang kept trying to take the lead in the second round. But Khelif pushed her back a few steps. They studied each other, each trying to mimic the other’s movements the entire time.
Khelif, however, was not denied the final round. In fact, she won every round for all five judges, so clear was it that the officials saw her victory.
After the unanimous decision was announced, she was carried by her coach across the arena as she and thousands of her supporters celebrated.
This ended his extraordinary tournament.
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