Olympic boxing: Imane Khelif wins to secure place in gold-medal bout

Khelif beat Suwannapheng by unanimous decision at last year’s World Championships, before being disqualified by the IBA.

Here, the crowd chanted her name as she entered the ring – and the Algerian looked more confident than she had at any point this week.

After the result was confirmed she dropped her guard and danced on the canvas, and a bout fought in good spirits ended with an embrace between the two fighters.

“I had heard about the news regarding her, but I wasn’t following it closely,” Suwannapheng said.

“She is a woman, but she is very strong. I tried to use my speed, but my opponent was just too strong.”

Khelif added: “I am very happy. I am happy for all the support here in Paris.

“I want to thank all of the people of Algeria who came here.”

Khelif’s Games began with a win against Angela Carini last week – a fight that lasted just 46 seconds before the Italian abandoned saying she “had to preserve” her life.

That sparked widespread debate over the eligibility of Khelif and Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting, who was also disqualified by the IBA last year.

The IBA said Khelif had “failed to meet the eligibility criteria for participating in the women’s competition, as set and laid out” in its regulations, but the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said the pair had been “suddenly disqualified without any due process”.

The IOC, which suspended the IBA in 2019 because of concerns over its finances, governance, ethics, refereeing and judging, has allowed the pair to compete and strongly backed them.

President Thomas Bach said on Saturday there was “never any doubt” they are women.

A chaotic news conference held by the IBA on Monday did little to lessen the confusion, with key IBA figures giving conflicting statements on why they were banned.

The IOC said competitors were eligible for the women’s division if their passports said they were female.

It will now see Khelif, already guaranteed bronze by reaching this semi-final, in the final of its biggest stage in three days’ time.

Lin fights in her semi-final in the 57kg category on Wednesday.