The unusual ending became a sharp wedge that further exacerbated the already prominent divide over gender identity and regulation in sports (Photo: X/@jk_rowling)
Boxer Imane Khelif of Algeria won a medal at the Paris Olympics on Saturday, a fight that followed days of harsh criticism and online insults. Misconceptions about her gender have fueled a larger conflict over identity in the sport.
Khelif defeated Hungary’s Anna Luca Hamori 5:0 in the quarterfinals of the women’s 66-kilogram event. Khelif wins at least a bronze medal after defeating Hamori for the second victory of her tumultuous second trip to the Olympics. The Hungarian Boxing Federation said it planned to contest the match with the International Olympic Committee but allowed the match to go ahead anyway.
Khelif faced outrage after the banned International Boxing Association alleged she failed an unspecified eligibility test to compete last year due to elevated testosterone levels. She won her opening bout at the Paris Games on Thursday when her opponent Angela Carini of Italy left the fight in tears after just 46 seconds.
The unusual ending has sharply inflamed an already deep division over gender identity and regulation in sports, prompting comments from former US President Donald Trump, Harry Potter author JK Rowling and others who falsely claimed that Khelif was male or transgender.
At the Paris Games, which focused on inclusion and drew outrage over an opening ceremony featuring drag queens, LGBTQ+ groups say the hateful comments could pose a danger to their community and female athletes.
Khelif’s victory was emotional, she went to the center of the ring, waved to her fans, knelt down and hit the canvas with her palm, her smile turned into tears. She left the ring to hug her coaches while her fans roared, crying during their hug and when she walked out.
IOC President Thomas Bach on Saturday defended Khelif and fellow boxer Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan. Khelif and Lin were disqualified midway through last year’s world championships by the IBA, the former governing body of Olympic boxing, after they said they failed to pass an eligibility test.
Both organizations have participated in IBA events for years without any problems. The Russian-dominated organization, which has been in conflict with the IOC for years over jury scandals, leadership decisions and financial issues, refuses to provide information about the tests. This underlines the lack of transparency in almost all aspects of its activities, especially in recent years.
Let’s be very clear here: we are talking about women’s boxing, Bach said Saturday. We have two boxers who were born as women, who were raised as women, who have a passport as women, and who have competed as women for years. And this is the clear definition of a woman. There was never any doubt that they were women.
The IBA, which is led by an acquaintance of Russian President Vladimir Putin, disqualified Khelif last year but has not released further details about the tests, saying the process is confidential. It was given the unprecedented punishment of being banned from the 2019 Olympics after years of conflict with the IOC.
What we see now is that some want to own the definition of who a woman is, Bach added. And there I can only invite them to come up with a scientifically based new definition of who a woman is, and how can someone who was born, raised, fought and has a passport as a woman, not be considered a woman?
If they come up with something, we are prepared to listen, Bach added. “We are prepared to look at it, but we will not participate in a sometimes politically motivated culture war.
On Saturday, Khelif fought aggressively from the opening bell, landing a sharp left jab as the fighters circled. Her fans chanted her first name repeatedly midway through the opening round, and she lunged forward to throw a combination.
The exhausted fighters embraced half-heartedly after the bell, but they touched fists and exchanged smiles just before the verdict was announced. They touched hands again as Khelif held the ropes to force Hamori out of the ring in a traditional boxing gesture of sportsmanship.
Khelif, who failed to win a medal at the 2021 Tokyo Games, will face Thailand’s Janjaem Suwannapheng in the 66kg semifinals at Roland Garros on Tuesday. Suwannapheng, a silver medalist at last year’s world championships, defeated reigning Olympic champion Busenaz Surmeneli minutes before Khelif’s victory.
Lin, also a two-time Olympian, could win her first medal on Sunday if she beats Bulgaria’s Svetlana Staneva.
Amid all the criticism, Khelif and Lin received only cheers from the crowd at the North Paris Arena.
What is happening in this context on social media, with all the hate speech, with all the aggression and insults, and what is being fueled by this agenda, is completely unacceptable, Bach said.
The limited field of the Paris Olympic boxing tournament, with the lowest number of boxers since 1956, means that many fighters can win medals with just two wins. Boxing awards two bronze medals in each weight class, meaning that every semi-finalist wins a medal.
In Paris, Olympic sport achieved gender equality for the first time, with 124 men and 124 women participating.
(Only the headline and image of this report may have been edited by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
First print: Aug 03, 2024 | 11:23 PM IST