Victorious gender row boxer Imane Khelif takes aim at her 'bullies' (2024)

A final opponent had been dismantled and there was a gold medal around her neck, but Imane Khelif was not done throwing punches.

The Algerian at the centre of a gender row, over whom questions will now grow louder after she completed a Parisian stroll to Olympics glory, came into the post-fight press conference swinging.

Here, there was no ducking or dodging, only more powerful blows, this time raining down on the critics who say she should not have been here, fighting against women, after failing a sex test last year.

It took two minutes for the inevitable to be asked. What was her message to the haters? Khelif, as she has done so successfully over the last fortnight, took aim and did not miss.

‘I am fully qualified,’ she said. ‘I am a woman like any other woman. I was born a woman, I lived as a woman, I competed as woman - there is no doubt.’

The 25-year-old was not done there. ‘There are enemies of success of course,’ she added. ‘That gives my success a special taste because of these attacks.’

Coming into this welterweight final against China’s hapless Yang Liu, Khelif had won 12 fights in a row. There was to be no unlucky 13. What we saw was familiar.

Rangy left jab, brutal right hand. Time and time again she rocked her opponent backwards, legs propelling in almost cartoon-esque fashion.

Multiple clean shots to the centre of the nose. There was power but there was also accuracy. Khelif had not lost a round previously. She was in no danger of doing so here in front of a crowd so partisan it booed Liu into the ring. Five judges and five identical scorecards. Once again, the verdict was unanimous. Not much else is.

Those on the other side of a polarised argument big on opinion but still short on facts, will use her triumph as more evidence that something is amiss. That officials from the murky, Russian-led IBA were right to turf her out of last year’s World Championships. That the IOC, at war with the IBA and currently threatening to remove boxing from the programme, need to check more than what it says on someone’s passport before letting them fight in the female category.

Khelif, who took an instant call from the country’s president, also had a political message. ‘I want to tell the world that they should commit to the Olympic principles and they should not bully people,’ she said.

‘This is the message of the Olympics. I hope people stop bullying. We are in the Olympic to perform as athletes, to our families. I hope will not see any similar attacks in future.’

She may not get her wish. Within minutes of the final bell tennis legend Martina Navratilova piled in, tweeting ‘shame on you, IOC’ and ‘thanks for nothing’.This gold will not bring the matter to a close, not even for this weekend.

Saturday night Taiwan’s Lin Yu-Ting, who also failed a gender test and was also kicked out of those World Championships, will fight for gold in the featherweight division.

On Friday Olympics chief Thomas Bach again defended the right of both to box here but added that he would be the first to adopt an agreed ‘scientifically solid system’.‘

This system is working and so therefore our decision is clear,’ he said. ‘Women should be allowed to take part in women’s competitions and the two are women.’For now, victory is Khelif’s.

Few would bet against the same for Yu-Ting. They may well want to defend their medals in Los Angeles in 2028. Whether they get the chance to do so, with boxing’s very existence in the Games under threat, remains to be seen.

As previously mentioned, Khelif is one of two athletes—alongsideTaiwan's Lin Yu-ting—who have been authorised to compete in the Paris 2024 after being disqualified from last year's Women's World Championships for allegedly failing gender eligibility tests.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC), which is overseeing boxing at the Paris 2024 Games but did not organise the World Championships, said that Khelif was disqualified in India due to elevated testosterone levels.

However, after receiving a bye in the first round at the Olympics, Khelif—who also competed in the Tokyo Games—faced criticism following her bout with Italian boxer Angela Carini.

Within the first 30 seconds of their clash, Carini was hit in the face and went to her corner to have her headgear adjusted by her coach, with reports stating she had broken her nose.

Although she briefly continued,Carini barely threw a punch before telling her corner 'it's not fair' and then abandoning the match 'for her own safety' - instantly dropping to her knees and crying.

'I wasn't able to finish the match. I felt a strong pain to my nose and I said [to myself] for the experience that I have and the maturity as a woman that I have, I said I hope my nation won't take it badly, I hope my dad won't take it badly - but I stopped, I said stop for myself,' Carini told BBC Sport after the fight.

'It could have been the match of a lifetime, but I had to preserve my life as well in that moment. I didn't have fear, I don't fear the ring. I don't fear taking the blows. But this time there's an end for everything, and I put an end to this match, because I wasn't able to [continue].'

After the match was stopped, the referee raised Khelif's hand in the air. But a visibly furious Carini yanked her own hand away from the fight official and walked off.

During the rapid fight, Carini was rocked by two punches from Khelif and said the savage force of the blows made it 'impossible to continue'.

Ignoring the Algerian after calling a halt to the bout, the Italian fighter then plunged to her knees and burst into tears - later saying she said she had never felt such strong blows in a contest before.

Speaking after the match, the heartbroken Italian said: 'I'm used to suffering. I've never taken a punch like that, it's impossible to continue. I'm nobody to say it's illegal.

'I got into the ring to fight. But I didn't feel like it anymore after the first minute. I started to feel a strong pain in my nose. I didn't give up, but a punch hurt too much and so I said enough. I'm leaving with my head held high.'

She said she did not walk away from the fight as a protest against her opponent's inclusion, but that was a decision for the Olympics to consider.

Asked why she knelt at the end of the match, she said it was for her late father, who died in 2021, before adding: 'I am sorry not to have taken Italy on to the podium.'

She was taken away for medical assessment to examine the seriousness of her facial injuries which included a bruised nose.

Sex Matters' Maya Forstater reacted with outraged emojis to a video of the conclusion of the bout, where a commentator quips 'job done'.

Former elite marathon runner and two-time Olympian Mara Yamauchi further slated the fight on X, saying 'shame on the IOC for allowing this'.

Khelif has attracted backlash with gold medal-winning Team GB boxer boxer Nicola Adams posting: 'I stand wit Angela Carini'.

The trailblazer slammed the decision to let the fight go ahead as 'unfair and dangerous'.

She said: 'After years of fighting for women's boxing to even exist in the Olympics and then all the training they go through to get there it was hard to watch another fighter be forced [to] give up on her Olympic dreams.

'People not born as biological women, that have been through male puberty should not be able to complete [sic] in women's sport. Not only is this unfair it's dangerous!'

There is no evidence or claim that either athletes have been through male puberty. The pair were ruled ineligible after they'failed to meet eligibility rules, following a test conducted by an independent laboratory'.

Sex Matters director of campaigns Fiona McAnena said the International Olympic Committee, which oversees the Games, should be 'ashamed'.

She said: 'It's grossly unfair that at the pinnacle of her sporting career, Italian boxer Angela Carini had to concede for her own safety.

'The look of sheer pain and devastation in her face at that moment should be enough to end the absurd and dangerous spectacle of men in women's sport once and for all.

'People are rightly outraged, and the IOC should be ashamed, but they seem to be shameless as this is their policy in action.

'Male advantage used against women makes nearly every sport unfair, and some sports unsafe, including boxing. This is still being played out in many sports worldwide.'

Bosses at the IOC are now facing a furious backlash following the fight, with former Prime Minister Liz Truss blasting the clash.

Writing on Twitter, the ex-Tory MP said: 'When will this madness stop? Men cannot become women. Why is the British Government not objecting to this?'

British Olympics swimming hero Sharron Davies also waded into the controversy, raging: 'This is shocking. The IOC are a bloody disgrace. In effect legalising beating up females. This must stop!!! What the hell's the matter with them?'

While Harry Potter author JK Rowling branded the contest 'insanity'. In a post yesterday, the gender-critical author wrote: 'What will it take to end this insanity? A female boxer left with life-altering injuries? A female boxer killed?'

Posting a video of the fight, the author added: 'Watch this (whole thread), then explain why you're OK with a man beating a woman in public for your entertainment. This isn't sport. From the bullying cheat in red all the way up to the organisers who allowed this to happen, this is men revelling in their power over women.'

And speaking to MailOnline, sports scientist Professor Ross Tucker said: 'Would you allow a 90kg fighter to fight against a 60kg fighter?

'Because that's more or less what the difference is in strength and power between male and female boxers.'

Elon Musk, the owner of the social media platform X, endorsed efforts to get a campaign in support of Carini trending.

American swimmer Riley Gaines, who has campaigned for women's rights in her sport, wrote on the platform: 'Men don't belong in women's sports. #IStandWithAngelaCarini Let's get it trending.'

Musk quoted Gaines' post and replied: 'Absolutely.'

The commotion surrounding Khelif's participation in the Games continued into her second-round match againstHungary’s Luca Anna Hamori.

The Algerian welterweight scored a unanimous victory over her opponent to secure a place in the Paris 2024 semi-finals.

This time, the tears were Khelif’s after a dominant performance which saw her cheered on by hundreds of noisy Algerians and later congratulated by the country’s president who said she had 'honoured Algeria, Algerian women and Algerian boxing'.

Khelif shouted in Arabic, with Algerian reporters translating that she had said 'I want to tell the entire world that I am a woman and I will remain a woman.'

As she headed to the dressing room. She later expressed her thanks to the IOC 'who spoke the truth'. 'Thanks to God this is the first women's medal for boxing in Algeria,' Khelif added. 'I can say to the Algerian people that I won a medal for Algeria and Arabs.'

A few days later, she was seen exploding with joy after reaching the Olympic final in the women's 66kg boxing event thanks to another dominant display in the ring.

The 25-year-old overcame Thailand'sJanjaem Suwannapheng by a unanimous decision to set up a gold medal fight againstYang Liu of China.

Once her victory was confirmed over the loudspeaker, Khelif began celebrating by waving the index finger on her left hand.

She then briefly paused her celebrations to allow her opponent - now a confirmed bronze medalist - a moment to lap up applause from the crowd.

Once Suwannapheng had left the ring,Khelif returned to centre stage and began running on the spot with high knees, while spinning around and appeared to shout something.

Later in the evening,Khelif said that she did not care about the controversy swirling over her inclusion in the women's 66kg boxing category.

Having avoided the huge media scrum after her previous bouts, Khelif broke her silence to maintain: 'I don't care what anyone is saying about me with the controversy.

'All that is important to me is that I stay on the level and give my people the performance they deserve. I know I'm a talented person and this is a gift to all Algerians.'

Hundreds of flag-waving Algerian supporters had turned the normally genteel surroundings of Phillippe-Chatrier Court at Roland Garros into a cauldron of noise in support of Khelif, who is at the centre of a gender eligibility row.

Chants of 'Imane' tumbled down from the stands as Khelif, who was one of two boxers caught up in the ongoing row, dominated Suwannapheng to confirm she would get the chance to emulate compatriot Hocine Soltani, who won lightweight gold in 1996.

The IBA was stripped of its recognition by the IOC last year over governance and finance issues, with the Olympic body running the boxing competition in Paris.

The IOC said in a statement last week: 'These two athletes were the victims of a sudden and arbitrary decision by the IBA.

'Towards the end of the IBA World Championships in 2023, they were suddenly disqualified without any due process.

'According to the IBA minutes available on their website, this decision was initially taken solely by the IBA Secretary General and CEO.'

Some sports have limited the levels of testosterone allowed for athletes competing in women's competition, while others ban everyone who has been through male puberty.

Differences of Sexual Disorder are a group of rare conditions involving genes, hormones and reproductive organs.

Some people with DSDs are raised as female but have XY sex chromosomes and blood testosterone levels in the male range.

The IOC said the rules of eligibility were based on those of the Tokyo Games in 2021 and could not be changed during a competition.

The governing body added: 'The IOC is saddened by the abuse that the two athletes are currently receiving. Every person has the right to practice sport without discrimination.'

But in its own statement, the IBA condemned 'inconsistencies in eligibility' at the Paris Games, adding: 'Both Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting post testing, did not meet the required eligibility criteria to compete within the female category of our respective events.

'The urgent nature of the decision (to disqualify the boxers) was justified, as the safety of our boxers is our top priority.'

In a newly-unearthed interview filmed ahead of the Games, Khelif opened up about bouncing back from her ban over elevated testosterone levels and declared: 'I wanted to show the whole world what a brave woman Imane Khelif is.'

Speaking earlier this week, International Olympic Committee spokesperson Mark Adams said: 'Everyone competing in the women's category is complying with the competition eligibility rules.'

He added: 'They are women in their passports and it's stated that this is the case, that they are female.'

Prior to 2021, the IOC set thresholds for the maximum amount of testosterone — the 'male' sex hormone — competitors in women's events could have. These were picked up in blood tests, similar to ones for doping.

Rules on testosterone limits had been previosuly brought into sharp focus by the very public and famous case of Caster sem*nya.

sem*nya has a condition which means her body naturally produces higher levels of testosterone than normal for women.

She became unable to compete at Tokyo in 2020 after World Athletics brought in new rules independently of the IOC at the time.

IOC's own testosterone monitoring policies were halted three years ago and replaced with a policy of 'fairness, inclusion and non-discrimination on the basis of gender identify and sex variation'.

Lin Yu-Ting has also been at the center of the controversy after the Taiwanese boxer, who had previously failed a gender test, won decisively against her opponent, leaving them in tears.

Yu-Tingneeded the full three rounds to beat Uzbekistan's Sitora Turdibekova but the decision to allow the fight to go ahead in the first place sparked fury from women's rights activists and other athletes.