Imane Khelif of Algeria wins women’s welterweight gold amid gender dispute

Imane Khelif wins gold in welterweight boxing at Olympics, sparking gender dispute with Lin Yu-ting.

Algeria’s Imane Khelif, the female boxer thrust into the centre of a a gender dispute at the Paris Games, beat China’s Yang Liu to claim the welterweight Olympic gold medal in crushing fashion, sending her fans into delirium on Friday.

Khelif, silver medallist at the 2022 World Championships, and Taiwan boxer Lin Yu-ting have been in the spotlight as part of a gender dispute in Paris that has dominated headlines and been the subject of much discussion on social media platforms.

Khelif, who won by unanimous decision, is the first Algerian woman to earn an Olympic boxing title and the first boxer from her country to claim gold since Hocine Soltani at Atlanta 1996. Women’s boxing has been in the Olympics since London 2012.

“I’m very happy. This is my dream. Eight years, my dream. I’m Olympic champion, gold medallist. I’m very happy. Eight years, I work,” Khelif, 25, said.

“Eight years, no sleep. Eight years, tired. Now, I’m Olympic champion. I’m very happy. I want to thank all the people come to support me. People, Algeria, and all the people, Paris.”

Janjaem Suwannapheng of Thailand and Taiwan’s Chen Nien-chin were awarded bronze.

Khelif and double world champion Lin were disqualified by the International Boxing Association (IBA) from the 2023 World Championships, with the body saying at a press conference during the Paris Games that a gender test had ruled them ineligible.