Imane Khelif, the boxer at the centre of the Olympics’ gender storm, is guaranteed to win a medal in Paris after beating Hungary’s Anna Luca Hamori in the quarter-finals of the women’s 66kg category.
Khelif is one of two fighters - along with Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan - who has been allowed to compete at these Games despite being disqualified from last year’s World Championships for failing a gender eligibility test.
The Algerian fighter won her opening bout in just 46 seconds after Italian opponent Angela Carini abandoned the contest, later claiming she had never been hit so hard in her life.
While Hungary’s boxing federation said it would complain to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) over Khelif’s involvement, Hamori had insisted ahead of the quarter-final that she had no reservations over taking the fight, but was comprehensively defeated as Khelif scored a unanimous points victory.
The pair embraced at the end of the bout, before Khelif broke down in tears in the ring following a week of intense scrutiny and online abuse.
She is now due to meet Thailand’s Janjaem Suwannapheng in Tuesday’s semi-final, with the winner going on to fight for gold and the loser guaranteed a bronze medal.
Khelif’s victory over Carini forced the IOC to come out in defence of both her and Lin’s participation amid a storm of controversy.
The nature of the sex tests both fighters are said to have failed has never been formally disclosed by the International Boxing Association (IBA), the body which runs the sport’s World Championships.
However, the IBA was previously stripped of the right to organise the Olympic competition.
