The boxer emerged victorious in the welterweight fight amid a gender dispute to win Algeria’s second gold medal in Paris.
Imane Khelif smiled, danced and roared with joy after defeating China’s Yang Liu to become the first Algerian, Arab and African woman to win an Olympic gold medal in boxing at the Paris Games.
The 25-year-old dominated the three-round welterweight bout and was declared the winner by unanimous decision from the judges at the Rolland-Garros Stadium in the French capital on Friday night.
The Algerian, who was at the center of a gender dispute in one of the main debate topics of the Olympic Games, never seemed to be in trouble, as she had the support of an ecstatic Algerian crowd in the stands of the Philippe-Chatrier Court.
She was drawn into a gender debate after a 2023 ruling by the now-banned International Boxing Association (IBA) resurfaced which disqualified her for failing a gender eligibility test.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) rejected the results of the IBA-ordered tests as arbitrary and illegitimate, saying there was no reason to carry them out.
Khelif’s supporters came prepared with the Algerian flag and let out a loud roar as Khelif entered the arena before the fight. They cheered her from the first round to the medal ceremony, as Khelif stood proudly in the center of the podium with a gold medal on her chest.
“It was my dream [to win this medal] and I am very happy today to be an Olympic gold medalist,” Khelif told the BBC after winning the fight.
“Eight years of hard work, eight years of [being] very tired, eight years without sleep – [this is] fantastic,” she added.
IMANE KHELIF GOLD MEDAL!
Algerian women continue to make us proud #Olympics #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/xYe4eMGHWI
– Algeria FC (@Algeria_FC) August 9, 2024
The 66kg fight was the last of a busy night of medal disputes at the games.
Yang started the first round strongly and tried to push Khelif back, but the fighter from northwest Algeria was unable to flinch. Instead, she fought back with a strong blow at the end of the first round to win easily.
The Algerian didn’t let up in the second round, and although Yang tried to fight back, she couldn’t do enough to emerge victorious.
In the third round, Yang seemed to have lost the power to be the aggressor and while Khelif waited for her to attack, the Chinese fighter missed several shots and seemed to have accepted defeat.
‘Algeria is very happy today’
Dressed in red and with a smile of victory, Khelif walked to the center of the ring so that the referee raised her left hand in victory. She then saluted the crowd before breaking into a now-trademark dance around the ring.
It was a stark contrast to the scene at the end of her quarterfinal fight, where she cried as she hugged her team.
As soon as Khelif stepped out of the ring, her team members grabbed her shoulders and carried her around the arena as the gold medalist was applauded while raising the Algerian flag.
The tall fighter thanked the crowds of Algerian supporters who filled the arena, as well as those who supported her from around the world as she was the target of a gender dispute.
“I want to thank all the Algerian people here in Paris, around the world and in Algeria,” she said after the fight.
“All the people of Algeria and all the people at my base. I want to thank the whole team, my coach. Thank you very much.”
“Algeria is very happy today.”
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
