Algerian boxer Imane Khelif broke down in tears after winning the 66 kg quarter-final boxing match against Hungary’s Anna Luca Hamori following an emotional past few days. Just this morning, Hamori posted a controversial now-deleted image on Instagram of a muscular horned monster facing off against a female boxer.
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Khelif, who was welcomed in the ring like a rockstar by cheering supporters, has been targeted by persistent backlash online following her victory over Italy’s Angela Carini in a bout that lasted less than a minute.
One of Algeria’s first three Olympic women’s boxers sent to Tokyo three years ago, Khelif has faced some setbacks after being disqualified at last year’s Women’s World Championships, along with Taiwan’s Lin Yu‑ting, due to a gender eligibility test which reportedly revealed elevated levels of testosterone in their systems.
After Khelif won over Carini, she was accused to compete in the wrong gender category by several prominent figures such as J.K. Rowling who posted a picture from the fight on X saying: “Could any picture sum up our new men’s rights movement better?” She added that it showed the “smirk of a male who’s knows he’s protected by a misogynist sporting establishment enjoying the distress of a woman he’s just punched in the head, and whose life’s ambition he’s just shattered.” Elon Musk, meanwhile, shared a post from swimmer Riley Gaines that claimed “men don’t belong in women’s sports.” The X owner co-signed the message by writing: “Absolutely.”
But as Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Commitee, reiterated today during a press briefing , Khelif was born and raised as a woman, has competed as such in the past, and is registered as a woman on her passport.
“We will not take part in a sometimes-politically motivated cultural war,” Bach added.
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Carini, who abandoned her match against Khelif after declaring she “never felt a punch like this,” has expressed regrets over the way she behaved with the Algerian boxer right after the bout. She was quoted in the Italian sports outlet Gazzetta dello Sport saying she “(wanted to) apologize” for not shaking Khelif’s hand after the game. “Actually, I want to apologize to her and everyone else. I was angry because my Olympics had gone up in smoke,” she said, adding that “All this controversy makes me sad (…) I’m sorry for my opponent, too. If the IOC said she can fight, I respect that decision.”
Hamori looked shaken after the three-round match but saluted Khelif and nodded with somewhat of a smile. Earlier today, the Hungarian boxer was quoted saying she “(doesn’t) care about the stories, what is going on the social media right now. If she or he is a man, it will be a bigger victory for me if I win.”
Khelif will next face Thailand’s Janjaem Suwannapheng in the semi-final on Aug. 6.
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