Facing off against Thailand's Janjaem Suwannapheng in the boxing semifinals at the Paris Olympics held at the acclaimed Roland Garros, the victor will advance directly to the grand finals of the women's 66-kilogram category set for Friday evening.
Khelif, marking her second Olympic appearance, has guaranteed herself an historic Olympic medal , securing Algeria's first-ever for women's boxing. She remains only two wins away from seizing Algeria's second gold in boxing since Hocine Soltani's triumph in 1996.
The premature end of the match triggered ill-founded assertions from high-profile individuals, including ex-U. S. President Donald Trump and "Harry Potter" author J. K. Rowling among others, erroneously alleging Khelif to be either male or transgender.
In discussions with SNTV, Khelif expressed her pain over the widespread derogatory attention stating it "harms human dignity" and pleaded for the cessation of athlete bullying.
Throughout this ordeal, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and its president, Thomas Bach, have stood firm in their support of Khelif and another boxer under scrutiny, Lin Yu-ting from Taiwan.
Khelif and Lin were disqualified by the International Boxing Association in the middle of last year's world championships over what it claimed were failed eligibility tests for the women's competition.
The IBA has been banished from the Olympics since before the Tokyo Games, and the body struggled to articulate the reasoning for its decisions on Khelif and Lin at a news conference Monday.
Lin also has clinched a medal and advanced to the Olympic semifinals. She fights Esra Yildiz Kahraman of Turkey in the first bout Wednesday night at Roland Garros.
Olympic boxing does not stage bronze-medal bouts, so the losers of both semifinal bouts receive bronze.
Most Popular
Comments / 0