Imane Khelif of Algeria has qualified for the final in the women's welterweight boxing event at the 2024 Olympics in Paris following a unanimous decision victory over Janjaem Suwannapheng of Thailand.
This will be the first time Imane will contest an Olympic final, having been stopped in the quarterfinals in Tokyo three years ago. She meets Liu Yang of China in the gold medal bout and will look to deliver the first-ever gold medal in boxing for Algeria.
The 25-year-old Khelif has become embroiled in some high-profile controversy over gender-based eligibility, a case that also implicates Taiwan's Lin Yu-ting.
Both Khelif and Lin were stripped of their places at last year's World Championships by the IBA after failing gender eligibility tests. The Russian headed IBA stripped them of their medals and barred them from women's events to protect the integrity.
However, the International Olympic Committee is allowing both to compete, based on the gender recorded in an athlete's passport.
Khelif opened her Paris account by defeating Angela Carini of Italy last week – a contest lasting only 46 seconds as the Italian withdrew citing the need to "preserve her life".
Of course, it is obvious that the controversial case of the eligibility of Khelif and Lin—who were earlier declared ineligible by the IBA—has sparked debate all around.
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