Olympics Day 13: Imane Khelif caps off tumultuous tournament with gold medal win

After the decision was announced, Imane Khelif did her trademark finger gun celebration with tears in her eyes. She then hugged her trainer, Cuban legend Pedro Diaz, before being carried from the ring on the shoulders of an assistant coach as she hoisted up an Algerian flag above her head.

Khelif’s unanimous decision win on Friday over China’s Yang Liu in the women’s 66 kilogram gold medal match was a cathartic end to an Olympic run that saw the 25-year-old make headlines worldwide for everything but her boxing skills. Khelif, who grew up in the rural village of Tiaret in western Algeria, had been the subject of gender misconceptions that threatened to derail her Olympic dream.

Of all the terms thrown her way over the past week, the only label that mattered in the end was “champion.” All five judges gave Khelif every round, 30-27, in a dominant exhibition.

Yang, 32, had success early in the first round, frustrating Khelif with her range and southpaw movement as Khelif struggled to cut the ring. Khelif made her first impression on the bout later in the round, landing a combination along the ropes Khelif made her first impression on the bout in the final minute, landing a combination along the ropes that helped her sweep the first round.

Yang made the adjustment of becoming the aggressor in round two, which played into the hands of Khelif, who took advantage to counterpunch. At one point, Yang, who is used to having the height and reach advantage, awkwardly ran towards her opponent, missing punches as she barreled in.

With the fight all but won, Khelif laid back and boxed smartly in the third, as Yang found herself in the unfamiliar territory of being the aggressor.

The win makes Khelif just the second Algerian to win a boxing gold, following 1996 gold medalist Hocine Soltani, who won the 60kg category.

Khelif and Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting were among two female boxers who were denied entry into last year’s IBA World Championships by the over claims that they had failed an unspecified gender eligibility test. Khelif was put under scrutiny by the IBA, which is based in Russia and run by Vladimir Putin ally Umar Kremlev, after defeating the Russian boxer Azalia Amineva in the round of 16.

Kremlev stated at a press conference earlier in the week that Khelif and Lin, who are not transgender and were born female, had XY chromosomes, instead of the XX chromosomes that women typically have.

“I am a woman like any woman,” said Khelif at a news conference after winning the gold, according to Reuters.

“I was born a woman and I have lived as a woman but there are enemies to success and they can can’t digest my success. That also gives my success a special taste.”

International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams told the Associated Press earlier this week that the IBA’s gender tests “are not legitimate,” with the IOC stating that they would “not take part in a sometimes politically motivated, cultural war.”

The IBA has not run an Olympic boxing tournament since 2016, having been suspended in 2019 due to financial and governance irregularities, as well as numerous corruption scandals that included accusations of fight fixing at the 2016 Olympics.

“From 2018, I competed under the authority of the IBA and they know everything about me. I don’t recognize this IBA. Some of the members hate me and I don’t know why,” said Khelif.

“I sent them a message today that my honor is above everything.”

Khelif, who is also a UNICEF national ambassador, told the organization in an interview earlier this year that she sold scrap metal to raise bus fare to travel the six mile distance to the nearest boxing gym as a teenager. Khelif competed at the Tokyo Olympics without any furor, losing to Ireland’s Kellie Harrington in the quarterfinals.

Khelif’s victory prevented a third Chinese woman adding an Olympic boxing gold so far, as Wu Yu took a 4-1 decision over Turkey’s Buse Naz Cakiroglu in the women’s 50kg final earlier in the day. On the men’s side, Uzbekistan added two more golds to the one that Hasanboy Dusmatov won the day before, as Asadkhuja Muydinkhujaev won a 5-0 decision over Mexico’s Marco Alonso Verde  in the men’s 71kg final and Lazizbek Mullojonov won a 5-0 decision over Azerbaijan’s Loren Alfonso in the men’s 92kg final.

Olympic boxing comes to a conclusion on Saturday with four more gold medal matches, as Lin Yu Ting of Taiwan faces Poland’s Julia Szeremeta in the women’s 57kg division, followed by Uzbekistan’s Abdumalik Khalokov against Munarbek Seiitbek Uulu of Kyrgyzstan in the men’s 57kg final, Li Qian of China against Atheyna Bibeichi Bylon of Panama in the women’s 75kg final and Uzbekistan’s Bakhodir Jalolov against Spain’s Ayoub Ghadfa Drissi El Aissaoui in the +92kg final.