Boxer Imane Khelif will fight for an Olympic gold medal on Friday after putting aside the row surrounding her eligibility to comprehensively win her semi-final against Janjaem Suwannapheng in Paris.
The Algerian welterweight is one of two boxers competing in Paris despite being disqualified from last year’s World Championships by the International Boxing Association (IBA) after she was reported to have failed gender eligibility tests.
Amid wild support under the roof of Court Philippe Chatrier – the French tennis venue repurposed for the boxing finals – Khelif dominated her Thai opponent to win by unanimous decision.
The win secured progression to her first Olympic final, having been knocked out in the quarter-finals in Tokyo three years ago.
She will fight Liu Yang of China in the gold-medal bout, bidding to become Algerian’s first boxing gold medallist.
“I am focused,” the 25-year-old said.
“I am here for a good performance and my dream. I will give everything I have for the final.”​​​​​​​
Khelif beat Suwannapheng by unanimous decision at last year’s World Championships, before being disqualified by the IBA.
Here, the crowd chanted her name as she entered the ring – and the Algerian looked more confident than she had at any point this week.
After the result was confirmed she dropped her guard and danced on the canvas, and a bout fought in good spirits ended with an embrace between the two fighters.
“I had heard about the news regarding her, but I wasn’t following it closely,” Suwannapheng said.
“She is a woman, but she is very strong. I tried to use my speed, but my opponent was just too strong.”
Khelif added: “I am very happy. I am happy for all the support here in Paris.
“I want to thank all of the people of Algeria who came here.”
Khelif’s Games began with a win against Angela Carini last week – a fight that lasted just 46 seconds before the Italian abandoned saying she “had to preserve” her life.
That sparked widespread debate over the eligibility of Khelif and Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting, who was also disqualified by the IBA last year.
The IBA said Khelif had “failed to meet the eligibility criteria for participating in the women’s competition, as set and laid out” in its regulations, but the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said the pair had been “suddenly disqualified without any due process”.
The IOC, which suspended the IBA in 2019 because of concerns over its finances, governance, ethics, refereeing and judging, has allowed the pair to compete and strongly backed them.
President Thomas Bach said on Saturday there was “never any doubt” they are women.
A chaotic news conference held by the IBA on Monday did little to lessen the confusion, with key IBA figures giving conflicting statements on why they were banned.
The IOC said competitors were eligible for the women’s division if their passports said they were female.
It will now see Khelif, already guaranteed bronze by reaching this semi-final, in the final of its biggest stage in three days’ time.
Lin fights in her semi-final in the 57kg category on Wednesday.