World Courant
Algeria’s Imane Khelif defeats Thailand’s Janjaem Suwannapheng by unanimous determination to take gold in Friday’s last.
Algeria’s Imane Khelif has reached the ultimate of the ladies’s welterweight boxing occasion on the 2024 Paris Olympics after beating Thailand’s Janjaem Suwannapheng on a unanimous factors verdict by the judges.
Khelif, who was the goal of a gender controversy in the course of the Video games, celebrated her victory on Tuesday night by leaping across the ring on the Rolland Garros stadium within the French capital.
A big Algerian contingent within the stands waved the nation’s flag and roared with pleasure because the referee lifted Khelif’s hand and declared her the winner after three rounds.
Followers of Algeria’s Imane Khelif cheer her on on the Roland Garros stadium (Mohd Rasfan/AFP)
The Algerian boxer who was embroiled in a serious gender controversy in the course of the Paris Olympics received her semi-final on Tuesday to safe a minimum of a silver medal, in entrance of a jubilant Roland Garros crowd that chanted her title.
Imane Khelif defeated Thailand’s 2023 World Cup silver medalist Janjaem Suwannapheng in a unanimous factors determination to advance to Friday’s last within the ladies’s -66kg class.
Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, the opposite boxer within the highlight for her eligibility, is bound to take house bronze herself in one other weight class.
The 25-year-old Khelif and Lin each competed on the Tokyo Olympics three years in the past, however there was no controversy then and neither received a medal.
Each had been disqualified from final 12 months’s world championships after failing a gender eligibility check, however had been allowed to compete within the Paris competitions.
Khelif obtained the most important cheer of the night time when she entered the Roland Garros area. Usually the venue for Grand Slam tennis tournaments, it now additionally hosts Olympic boxing matches and was filled with Algerian followers with flags.
There have been repeated cries of “Imane, Imane” earlier than and in the course of the match.
The Thai, who was clearly at a peak drawback, was given a standing rely within the third spherical after feeling the total drive of the superior Algerian.
On the finish of the struggle within the almost packed 15,000-seat Court docket Philippe-Chatrier, the 2 fighters greeted one another warmly and shook fingers.
Khelif danced within the heart of the ring, prompting much more approving cheers.
Khelif will face both Yang Liu of China or Chen Nien-chin of Taiwan for gold.
The controversy over the girl’s gender arose when Khelif defeated Angela Carini in her opening match within the French capital, in 46 seconds. The Italian cried and needed to go away the match due to a badly injured nostril.
The 2023 World Championships, from which Lin and Khelif had been banned, had been organized by the Worldwide Boxing Affiliation (IBA), however the Worldwide Olympic Committee (IOC) is organizing the game on the Video games because of monetary, governance and moral considerations with the IBA.
Kremlin-affiliated IBA chairman Umar Kremlev claimed at a chaotic press convention on Monday that each fighters “have undergone genetic checks which present they’re male”.
The IOC has defended Khelif and Lin, with President Thomas Bach saying they had been born and raised as ladies and have passports to again this up.
The 28-year-old Lin will struggle within the semi-finals of the ladies’s 57kg class on Wednesday.
Algeria’s Imane Khelif storms into Olympic last amid gender row | Information Paris 2024 Olympic Video games
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