Boxer Imane Khelif of Algeria beat Hungary's Luca Anna Hamori by unanimous decision in a welterweight quarterfinal fight at the Paris Games on August 3 to ensure Algeria's first Olympic boxing medal since 2000.
But the victory only heightened a controversy that has been brewing at the Paris Olympics and has raised questions from various boxing federations, including those of Hungary and Bulgaria, after two boxers who were disqualified from the World Championships last year were allowed to compete.
Khelif and Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting have been at the center of the controversy, which came under sharper focus on August 1 when Khelif won her opening bout against Angela Carini of Italy, who tearfully pulled out of the fight after sustaining a series of crushing blows in the first 46 seconds of the bout.
In her bout against Hamori, Khelif let fly flurries of lightning-quick punches to win the first two rounds on every judge's score card as a number of Algerian fans cheered her on while waving the country's flag. Khelif won 5-0 on a unanimous points decision.
The pair hugged after the final bell, but prior to the bout Hamori had expressed her displeasure at having to fight Khelif, and Hungary's boxing federation said it had contacted the International Olympic Committee to object to the Algerian’s participation.
The Bulgarian Olympic Committee said it also had voiced concerns over Khelif's and Lin's presence at the tournament during a meeting with the IOC's Medical and Scientific Commission on July 27.
Both Khelif and Lin were disqualified from the 2023 World Championships after failing the International Boxing Association's (IBA) eligibility rule that bars athletes with male XY chromosomes competing in women's events.
The boxing tournament in Paris is being organized by the IOC, which stripped the IBA of international recognition in 2023 over governance and finance issues.
In Paris, Lin won 5-0 on points on August 2 against Sitora Turdibekova of Ukzbekistan. She faces Svetlana Kamenova Staneva of Bulgaria in a featherweight quarterfinal on August 4.
Khelif will face Janjaem Suwannapheng of Thailand in the welterweight semifinal on August 6. She beat Suwannapheng at the World Championships in 2023 before being disqualified.
IOC president Thomas Bach said on August 3 that there "was never any doubt" that Khelif and Lin were women who had every right to compete at the Paris Olympics.
"We have two boxers who are born as women, who have been raised as women, who have passports as women and who have competed for many years as women. This is the clear definition of a woman," Bach told a news conference.
He also refused to take part in a “cultural war,” adding that social media “hate speech” is “totally unacceptable."
The online outrage has included comments from former U.S. President Donald Trump, author J.K. Rowling, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who have falsely claimed that Khelif is a man or is transgender.
But other commentators have said the controversy is different from previous ones involving runners because boxing is a contact sport and women are put in danger when facing opponents with male traits such as much larger muscles and power.
Bach left open the possibility of changes at future Olympics when it comes to such controversies.
"What we see now is that some want to own the definition of who is a woman and there I can only invite them to come up with a scientific base of a new definition of who is a woman and how someone being born, raised and having a passport as a woman cannot be considered a woman,” he said.
Khelif's coach said the controversy has been difficult for Khelif.
"She has suffered a lot -- as a child and now as a champion. She has suffered so much during these games," Mohamed Chaoua said. "Where is the humanity? Where are the associations for women's rights? She is a victim."