Boxer Imane Khelif advances to gold-medal bout with another victory amid gender misconceptions
Boxer Imane Khelif of Algeria has advanced to the gold-medal bout in the women’s welterweight division with a semifinal victory at the Paris Olympics amid scrutiny over misconceptions about her gender
PARIS (AP) — Boxer Imane Khelif of Algeria advanced to the gold-medal bout in the women’s welterweight division at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday night, moving one win away from what she calls the best response to the worldwide scrutiny she has faced over misconceptions about her gender.
With one more victory, Khelif would win Algeria’s second boxing gold medal and its first in women's boxing.
Khelif defeated Janjaem Suwannapheng of Thailand 5:0 in the semifinals at Roland Garros, where the crowd roared for her and chanted her name repeatedly during her three-round fight. Khelif has won three consecutive bouts in Paris, and she will win either a gold or a silver medal when she completes the tournament on Friday against Yang Liu of China.
Khelif has thrived inside the ring in Paris amid criticism and stigmatization outside of it. The trouble has stemmed from the Olympic-banished International Boxing Association’s decision to disqualify her and fellow Paris medalist Lin Yu-ting of Chinese Taipei from the world championships last year for allegedly failing an eligibility test.
