Imane Khelif’s Olympics 2024 semi-final rival breaks silence ahead of fight having already lost to gender row boxer
GENDER ROW boxer Imane Khelif’s next opponent Janjaem Suwannapheng is “not afraid” of the Algerian fighter.
Thailand’s Suwannapheng has spoken out ahead of her semi-final bout with Khelif, who has inadvertently seen her Olympic games hit by controversy.
Khelif’s participation in the Games comes 18 months after she allegedly failed a gender test in March 2023 and was disqualified from the Women’s World Championships.
Tests conducted by the Russian-backed International Boxing Association are said to have determined the 25-year-old tested for male XY chromosomes and higher testosterone levels.
While numerous incorrect reports had suggested that Khelif – who was born and raised a female – was a biological man.
She came under fire from the public and media after Italy‘s Angela Carini stopped her first-round fight with Khelif after just 46 seconds – claiming she feared for her life during the opening exchanges.
But after advancing through the rounds she now faces Thai fighter Suwannapheng for a place in the final, an opponent she has previously beaten.
Despite losing to Khelif in India last year, Suwannapheng fancies her chances against her old opponent – who has lost nine times throughout her career.
Speaking to Thai newspaper Khaosod, she said: “I’ve improved since then and I’ll fight with all I’ve got.
Olympics gender controversy
THE International Olympic Committee (IOC) stirred up a huge controversy by clearing two women to box who had previously failed a gender test.
Algeria’s Imane Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting were disqualified at the Women’s World Championships in New Delhi, India, in March 2023.
Lin Yu-ting was stripped of a bronze medal after failing a gender eligibility test.
Khelif was disqualified in New Delhi for failing a testosterone level test.
Officials found tests showed they had ‘XY chromosomes’ — which indicates a person is biologically male.
Rare ‘intersex’ medical conditions, medically known as differences in sexual development (DSDs), can also mean outwardly female individuals can have ‘male’ chromosomes, or vice versa.
The Russia-led International Boxing Association organised that event but is no longer recognised by the IOC.
IOC spokesman Mark Adams said: “These athletes have competed many times before for many years, they haven’t just suddenly arrived – they competed in Tokyo.
“The federation needs to make the rules to make sure that there is fairness but at the same time there is the ability for everyone to take part that wants to. That is a difficult balance.
“In the end the experts for each sport are the people who work in that. If there is a big advantage that clearly is not acceptable, but that needs to be a decision made at that level.”
Both Khelif and Lin competed at the delayed Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021. Lin is a two-time winner at the Asian Women Amateur Boxing Championships.
The IOC said all boxers in Paris “comply with the competition’s eligibility and entry regulations”.
The controversy follows the famous case of Caster Semenya.
South African middle-distance runner Semenya has a condition which means her body naturally produces higher levels of testosterone than normal for women.
She won gold in the 800m at London 2012 and Rio in 2016 but was unable to compete at Tokyo in 2021 after World Athletics brought in new rules independently of the IOC at the time.
“I’ve looked into it too, about her hormones, and I know she’s lost to female boxers before, but that was a long time ago.
“I’m not sure if she’s got stronger or if her male hormones have increased.”
She added: “But if we meet again, I’m not afraid because we’re evenly matched.
“I’ve prepared my body well too, trained a lot. I just think, no matter how strong or tough, we’re both human, we both have two fists.
“Having come this far, I want to go all the way to the gold medal.”
Khelif has defended herself amid the whirlwind of controversy that has followed her throughout Paris.
After booking her spot in the semi-final she said: “I send a message to all the people of the world to uphold the Olympic principles and the Olympic Charter, to refrain from bullying all athletes, because this has effects, massive effects.
“It can destroy people, it can kill people’s thoughts, spirit and mind. It can divide people.
“And because of that, I ask them to refrain from bullying.”
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.
Khelif’s loved ones were left fearing for her mental health after seeing the overwhelming amount of abuse she received online.
She said: “I am in contact with my family two days a week. I hope that they weren’t affected deeply.
“They are worried about me. God willing, this crisis will culminate in a gold medal, and that would be the best response.”
Immediately after her win over Hungary‘s Anna Luca Hamori last weekend, Khelif burst into tears and defiantly said: “I am a woman”.
Because Olympic boxing does not have a bronze medal play-off, Khelif is now guaranteed a medal this summer.
But she will have to win two more fights to ensure that she walks out of the ring with gold hanging around her neck.
