Algerian boxer Imane Khelif wins gold at Paris Olympics amid gender controversy | Paris Olympics 2024 Information – Occasions of India

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif received gold within the ladies’s 66kg ultimate on the Paris Olympics on Friday, overcoming the gender controversy. She triumphed over China’s Yang Liu, securing a unanimous factors determination and turning into one of the crucial controversial and profitable athletes on the Video games.
At 25, Khelif achieved a dream she had been pursuing for eight years.After her win, she was hoisted onto the shoulders of a staff member, celebrating her nation’s second gold medal in Paris.
“I am very comfortable. For eight years this has been my dream, and I am now the Olympic champion and gold medallist,” Khelif mentioned, reflecting on her journey of arduous work and dedication.
Khelif’s victory comes in opposition to a backdrop of controversy over gender eligibility. Each she and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting have been disqualified from final 12 months’s World Championships after failing gender eligibility checks. Regardless of this, the Worldwide Olympic Committee (IOC) cleared them to compete in Paris. The controversy rekindled when Khelif convincingly defeated Italy’s Angela Carini in her opening bout.

Standing at 1.79 meters (5ft 9in), Khelif utilized her top and power to her benefit all through the competitors. Within the ultimate match, she dominated Yang Liu, a former world champion, by controlling the tempo and delivering highly effective punches from the middle of the ring.
Criticism additionally got here from the Russian-led Worldwide Boxing Affiliation (IBA). Its president, Umar Kremlev, questioned the gender eligibility of each Khelif and Lin. Nevertheless, IOC president Thomas Bach defended the athletes. “They have been born and raised as ladies, with official documentation to show it,” Bach said, supporting their proper to compete.
Khelif’s gold medal efficiency has made her an emblem of resilience, celebrated by many, together with a big Algerian contingent on the 15,000-seat Court docket Philippe Chatrier.
“I need to thank all of the individuals who have come to assist me,” Khelif mentioned, expressing her gratitude to the group that energetically chanted her identify all through the match.
Whereas the talk over gender in sports activities persists, Khelif stays centered on the achievement she has tirelessly labored for over the previous eight years.