Algerian boxer Imane Khelif plagued by controversy wins bout

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif broke down in tears after winning her match against Hungary’s Anna Luca Hamori, hours after the latter posted a now-deleted image on Instagram of a muscular horned monster facing a female boxer.

Khelif, who was welcomed to the ring like a rock star by cheering supporters, has been the target of sustained backlash online following her victory over Italy’s Angela Carini in a fight that lasted less than a minute.

Khelif, one of Algeria’s first three Olympic women’s boxers sent to Tokyo three years ago, has suffered some setbacks after being disqualified from the Women’s World Championships last year, along with Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, due to a gender aptitude test that reportedly revealed elevated levels of boxing. testosterone in their system.

After Khelif Carini won, she was accused of competing in the wrong gender category by several prominent figures, such as JK Rowling, who posted a photo of the fight on She added that it showed the “grin of a man who knows he is protected by a misogynistic sporting organization who revels in the suffering of a woman he has just hit over the head and whose life ambition he has just shattered.” Elon Musk, meanwhile, shared a post from swimmer Riley Gaines claiming that “men don’t belong in women’s sports.” The X owner co-signed the post by writing: “Absolutely.”

Carini, who abandoned her match against Khelif after stating that she had ‘never felt such a blow’, has expressed regret over the way she behaved immediately after the fight with the Algerian boxer. She was quoted in Italian sports publisher Gazzetta dello Sport saying she wanted to “apologise” for not shaking Khelif’s hand after the match. “I actually want to apologize to her and everyone else. I was angry because my Olympics had gone up in smoke,” she said, adding: “All this controversy makes me sad (…) I am also sorry for my opponent. If the IOC says she can fight, I respect that decision.”

Hamori seemed shaken after the match, but greeted Khelif and nodded with a slight smile. Earlier today, the Hungarian boxer was quoted saying that she “(doesn’t) care about the stories and what is happening on social media right now. If he or she is a man, it will be a bigger victory for me if I win.”