Imane Khelif wins gold, caps Olympics marked by gender scrutiny

PARIS (AP) — Algerian boxer Imane Khelif has won a gold medal Friday at the Paris Olympics, emerging a champion from a tumultuous run at the Games where she endured intense scrutiny in the ring and online abuse from around the world over misconceptions about her womanhood.

Khelif beat Yang Liu of China 5:0 in the final of the women’s welterweight division, wrapping up the best series of fights of her boxing career with a victory at Roland Garros, where crowds chanted her name, waved Algerian flags and roared every time she landed a punch.

After her unanimous win, Khelif jumped into her coaches’ arms, one of them putting her on his shoulders and carrying her around the arena in a victory lap as she pumped her fists and grabbed an Algerian flag from someone in the crowd.

Those cheering fans have embraced Khelif in Paris even as she faced an extraordinary amount of scrutiny from world leaders, major celebrities and others who have questioned her eligibility or falsely claimed she was a man. It has thrust her into a larger divide over changing attitudes toward gender identity and regulations in sports.

Khelif told SNTV, a sports video partner of The Associated Press, last weekend that a gold medal would be “the best response” to the backlash against her. She also said the wave of hateful scrutiny she has received “harms human dignity” and called for an end to bullying athletes.

It stems from the Russian-dominated International Boxing Association’s decision to disqualify Khelif and fellow two-time Olympian Li Yu-ting of Taiwan from last year’s world championships, claiming both failed a murky eligibility test for women’s competition.

The International Olympic Committee took the unprecedented step last year of permanently banning the IBA from the Olympics following years of concerns about its governance, competitive fairness and financial transparency. The IOC has called the arbitrary sex tests that the sport’s governing body imposed on the two boxers irretrievably flawed.

The IOC has repeatedly reaffirmed the two boxers’ right to compete in Paris, with President Thomas Bach personally defending Khelif and Lin while calling the criticism “hate speech.”

“We have two boxers who are born as women, who have been raised as women, who have a passport as a woman and have competed for many years as women,” Bach said.

That hasn’t stopped the international outcry tied to misconceptions around the fighters that has been amplified by Russian disinformation networks. It also hasn’t slowed two boxers who have performed at the highest levels of their careers while under the spotlight’s glare.

Khelif was completely dominant in Paris at a level she had never reached before: She won every round on every judge’s scorecard in each of her three fights that went the distance.

Khelif’s gold medal is Algeria’s first in women’s boxing. She is only the nation’s second boxing gold medalist, joining Hocine Soltani (1996) while claiming the seventh gold medal in Algeria’s entire Olympic history.

While Khelif drew enthusiastic, flag-draped fans in Paris, she also has become a hero in her North African country. Many have seen the world’s dissection of Khelif as criticism of their nation.

Khelif’s fight was dubbed “The Night of Destiny” in local newspapers, with projection screens to watch the bout set up in public squares throughout Algiers and other cities. In the city of Tiaret in the region where Khelif is from, workers braved scorching summer heat to paint a mural of Khelif on the gym where she learned to box.

“Imane has managed to turn the criticism and attacks on her femininity into fuel,” said Mustapha Bensaou of the Tiaret gym. “The slander has given her a boost. … It’s a bit of a blessing in disguise.”

Khelif won the first round over Yang on all five judges’ cards despite showing a bit less aggression than earlier in the tournament. Khelif then knocked Yang back against the ropes with a combination early in the second, although Yang responded with a flurry of shots and fought gamely.

Khelif won the second round and cruised through the third, staying away from Yang just enough to avoid any serious threat. Khelif did a triumphant boxer’s shuffle in the final seconds of the bout before the boxers hugged. When the verdict was announced, Khelif saluted and then pumped her arm with glee.

Khelif smiled broadly during the medal ceremony and waved to the crowd. She sang Algeria’s national anthem with passion before kissing her gold medal. The four medalists — boxing gives out two bronze — then posed for a podium selfie, clasping hands and raising them together.

The gold medal fight was the culmination of Khelif’s nine-day run through an Olympic tournament that began with a bizarre event. Khelif’s first opponent, Angela Carini of Italy, abandoned their bout after just 46 seconds, saying she was in too much pain from Khelif’s punches.

An already brewing story suddenly became major international news, with the likes of former U.S. President Donald Trump and “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling weighing in with criticism and false speculation about men competing with women in sports. Carini later said she regretted her actions and wished to apologize to Khelif.

Khelif has never done as well in another international tournament as she did in these Olympics. When she was cast as some sort of unstoppable punching machine last week by pundits and provocateurs who had never seen her fight before, opponents and teammates who knew her were shocked by the characterization.

Then she lived up to the notion of being one of the best Olympic boxers in the world.

Lin also fights for a gold medal Saturday on the final card of the Olympics. She takes on Julia Szeremeta of Poland with a chance to win Taiwan’s first boxing gold.