Paris Olympics gender row boxer Imane Khelif’s next opponent breaks silence on fight with defiant statement
IMANE KHELIF’S next opponent has revealed she is “not scared” of the Algerian ahead of Saturday’s Olympic quarter-final bout.
Khelif earned a spot in the final eight after her previous opponent, Angela Carini, abandoned the last 16 fight.
The Italian abruptly quit after just 46 seconds, sparking controversy and a gender eligibility storm.
Khelif was disqualified from last year’s Women’s World Championships for failing to meet eligibility criteria.
The International Olympic Committee said she was disqualified after failing a testosterone level test.
But the 25-year-old’s next opponent, Anna Luca Hamori of Hungary, is unfazed by the noise surrounding Saturday’s event.
She told reporters: “I’m not scared. I don’t care about the press story and social media. If she or he is a man, it will be a bigger victory for me if I win.”
One of Khelif’s former opponents, Irish boxer Amy Broadhurst, has shown her support for the Algerian, suggesting she is no “cheat”.
She took to social media to say: “Have a lot of people texting me over Imane Khelif, personally I don’t think she has done anything to ‘cheat’.
“I think it’s the way she was born and that’s out of her control.
“The fact that she has been beaten by 9 females before says it all.”
The Algerian Olympic Committee (COA) has already defended Khelif’s participation at the Games.
A statement read: “COA strongly condemns the unethical targeting and maligning of our esteemed athlete, Imane Khelif, with baseless propaganda from certain foreign media outlets.”
“Such attacks on her personality and dignity are deeply unfair, especially as she prepares for the pinnacle of her career at the Olympics.
“The COA has taken all necessary measures to protect our champion.”
Piers Morgan has his say
This is a more complicated case than the barrage of shameful transgender scandals which have engulfed women’s sport in recent years.
Khelif reportedly has a condition called Swyer Syndrome which means she has some female reproductive organs but also much higher levels of testosterone than women.
As a result, she has a superior physicality to females, which can be seen by her tall, powerful frame.
In other words, she has an unfair advantage.
And that’s why there’s been such a furious response, led by JK Rowling, Elon Musk, and Martina Navratilova, to the footage of Carini quitting after being smashed in the face.
The obvious, indisputable, medical, and scientific, truth is that someone born with male biology of any kind has an obvious physical advantage over biological females.
That’s why we keep the sexes apart in the Olympics.
Otherwise, women would barely win a single medal.
To pretend otherwise is to be either utterly deluded or wilfully dishonest.