Algeria’s Imane Khelif and Taiwan's Lin Yu-ting are guaranteed to win at least a bronze medal in women’s boxing in their respective weight classes after beating their quarter-final opponents over the weekend. Khelif beat Hungarian Anna Luca Hamori via unanimous decision on Saturday, and Lin won, also by unanimous decision, against Bulgaria’s Svetlana Kamenova Staneva on Sunday.
Khelif, a welterweight boxer, who has been at the center of controversy over previously failing gender eligibility testing, told reporters after the match, "I dedicate this medal to the world, and to all the Arabs and I tell you, ‘Long live Algeria,'" according to NBC News. Khelif added, "I want to tell the entire world that I am a female, and I will remain a female."
In the bout against Hamori, the five judges ruled 10-9 in Khelif’s favor in each of the three rounds, except one just in the second round who ruled 10-8 in Khelif’s favor. Khelif was issued one warning in the third round.
Khelif will now face off against Thailand’s Janjaem Suwannapheng in the semi-finals on Tuesday. The winner of that bout will face the winner of the fight between Taiwan’s Chen Nien-chin and China’s Yang Liu. Lin, a featherweight boxer, will face off against Turkey’s Kahraman Esra Yildiz on Wednesday, with the winner heading to the final against the winner of the bout between Poland’s Julia Szeremeta and Nesthy Petecio of the Philippines.
In Olympic boxing, the losers of the semi-final rounds are awarded bronze medals while the final match determines the gold and silver winners.
Lin said after the Sunday, "I want to thank all the supporters from Taiwan, according to the Associated Press.
Khelif’s victory comes after a Thursday fight where Khelif’s opponent, Italy’s Angela Carini, forfeited just 46 seconds into the first round. Italian coach Emanuele Renzini told reporters after the fight that Carini didn’t want to continue the fight after being punched hard in the nose by Khelif, saying, "After one punch she feel big pain." Khelif won by ABD, meaning "abandoned."
Both Khelif and Lin have come under fire for previously failing gender eligibility testing. The International Boxing Association in 2023 deemed the two athletes ineligible to compete, saying they "pretended to be women" and had "XY chromosomes."
The IOC withdrew recognition of the Russian-led IBA in June 2023 over a failure to fulfill conditions set by the IOC in 2021 and installed the Paris Boxing Unit to oversee the sport for the 2024 Olympic Games. USA Boxing terminated its relationship with the IBA in 2023, citing "ongoing failures of IBA leadership."
Ahead of the Saturday fight, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach defended the organization’s decision to allow the two athletes to fight. "We have two boxers who were born as women, who have been raised as women, who have a passport as a woman, and who have competed for many years as women," Bach said.
Amar Khelif, Imane Khelif’s father, said, "She made us proud many times, she honored our country and our flag many times and she always made us happy with her results. These critics aim to destabilize her to fail in the wrestling ring but she is a champion and she will remain a champion.”
