Imane Khelif is taking the Olympic boxing ring after days of gender outcry

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif takes to the ring at the Paris Olympics 2024 again on Saturday following days of sharp scrutiny and online abuse as misconceptions about her gender have exploded into a larger clash about identity in sportsKhelif meets Anna Luca Hamori of Hungary whose boxing association planned to contest the matchup with the International Olympic Committee but still let the fight go ahead in a quarterfinal in the womens 66kilogram quarterfinals If Khelif wins the veteran amateur will secure the seventh Olympic boxing medal in Algerias history its first since 2000 and the nations first ever in womens boxingKhelif won her opening bout Thursday when opponent Angela Carini of Italy tearfully abandoned the fight after just 46 seconds The unusual ending became a sharp wedge to drive into an already prominent divide over gender identity and regulations in sports drawing comments from the likes of former US President Donald Trump ldquoHarry Potterrdquo writer JK Rowling and others falsely claiming Khelif was a man or transgenderAt a Paris Olympics 2024 that has championed inclusion and seen other outcry over an opening ceremony performance featuring drag queens LGBTQ groups say the hateful comments could pose dangers to their community and female athletesAlso ReadTejaswin Shankar takes the plunge into Paris gender rowIOC President Thomas Bach on Saturday defended Khelif and fellow boxer Lin Yuting of Taiwan Khelif and Lin were disqualified in the middle of last years world championships by the International Boxing Association the nowbanned former governing body of Olympic boxing after what it claimed were failed eligibility tests for the womens competitionBoth had competed in IBA events for several years without problems and the Russiandominated body mdash which has faced years of clashes with the IOC over judging scandals leadership decisions and financial issues mdash has refused to provide any information about the tests underscoring its lack of transparency in nearly every aspect of its dealings particularly in recent yearsldquoLets be very clear here We are talking about womens boxingrdquo Bach said Saturday ldquoWe have two boxers who are born as a woman who have been raised a woman who have a passport as a woman and who have competed for many years as women And this is the clear definition of a woman There was never any doubt about them being a womanrdquo The IBA which received the unprecedented punishment of being banned from Olympic participation in 2019 following years of conflict with the IOC disqualified Khelif last year for what it said were elevated levels of testosteroneThe IBA which is led by an acquaintance of Russian President Vladimir Putin has not released more details on the tests calling the process confidentialldquoWhat we see now is that some want to own the definition of who is a womanrdquo Bach added ldquoAnd there I can only invite them to come up with a scientificbased new definition of who is a woman and how can somebody being born raised competed and having a passport as a woman cannot be considered a woman ldquoIf they are coming up with something we are ready to listenrdquo Bach added We are ready to look into it but we will not take part in a sometimes politically motivated cultural warrdquo Khelif is fighting for a chance to clinch at least a bronze medal in her second Olympics after failing to medal at the Tokyo Games held in 2021Lin also a twotime Olympian will clinch her first medal Sunday if she beats Svetlana Staneva of Bulgaria Lin won her opening bout Friday comfortably over Uzbekistans Sitora TurdibekovaAmid the scrutiny both Khelif and Lin have received only cheers from the crowds at North Paris ArenaldquoWhat is going on in this context in the social media with all this hate speech with all this aggression and abuse and fueled by this agenda is totally unacceptablerdquo Bach saidThe reduced field at the Paris Olympics boxing tournament mdash which has the fewest number of total boxers since 1956 mdash means that many fighters can clinch medals with just two victories Boxing awards two bronze medals in each weight class which means every semifinalist wins a medalThe Olympic sport reached gender parity for the first time in Paris inviting 124 men and 124 women just 12 years after womens boxing made its Olympic debutWith agency inputs