No discrimination, no controversy… Inside the ‘Women’s Boxer’ Caliphate semifinals

The Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France, was packed on Sunday (June 7) as Algerian female boxer Imane Khalif, 26, who has been embroiled in a gender controversy, competed in the women’s 66-kilogram semifinals of the boxing at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

After the match, the joint press area (mix zone) was packed with reporters from around the world.

A broadcast journalist from Algeria began a live broadcast from the mix zone, and most of the press, including Yonhap reporters, craned their necks to hear even a word of English.

After entering the mix zone, Khalif spoke for about three minutes. Unfortunately, there was no one to translate from Arabic to English, so it was hard to make out much of what he said, but his pride at making it to the finals was easy to see.

According to the Associated Press, Khalif said, “I’m very happy, I’ve been training for eight years for this Olympics. I am very proud of this moment and thankful for the support of the people of my country,” he said.

“My opponent was very good. But I have been analyzing my opponent for the last two weeks,” Khalif said, adding that “the best response to the gender controversy is a gold medal.”

Khalif has been embroiled in a gender controversy at the tournament.

It began when the International Boxing Association (IBA), which has been banned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for a myriad of issues including referee bribery, favoritism and financial irregularities, disqualified Khalif and Lin Yu-hsing (TAIWAN) at last year’s world championships.

The IBA gave the unconfirmed reason that the chromosomes of the two fighters were “XY,” which usually means male.

The controversy escalated when the two boxers competed in the women’s boxing event at the Paris Olympics, which was criticized by politicians around the world.

Western media outlets, including the Associated Press, reported that the Russian government, which maintains ties with the IBA, had engaged in “cyberterrorism” activities to stir up hatred against them.

Russia has been banned from all international competitions since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and the IBA is funded by Gazprom, the Russian state-owned energy company.

Some of the players who played against them escalated the situation by showing an attitude of defiance, including making an X with their fingers.

But that was not the mood at the Roland Garros stadium, where the semifinals were played.

His opponent, Zanjaem Suwannapeng (THA), was all smiles during the match and remained respectful, even bowing his head in greeting after losing 0-5 on points.

Speaking to the media in the post-match mixer zone, Suwanapeng referred to the caliph as “she” for short.

“I’ve seen the controversy about her, but I didn’t pay much attention to it,” Suvarnabhumi said, “She’s a woman. She’s a woman, but she’s very strong,” he defended.

“I tried to utilize my speed, but she was just better,” he added.

There were no hateful or bigoted boos from the stands. Instead, the crowd cheered for both Khalif and Suwanapeng, who fought hard.

After Khalif secured the silver medal in the end, he celebrated his victory with a wild dance in the square ring.

The flag of Khalif’s home country, Algeria, was the most visible in the Roland Garros stadium where the match was held.

Before the match, the crowd draped in Algerian flags made their way to the Samsam-O-O stadium, and when Khalif won the match and advanced to the final, they cheered as if they were celebrating a victory.

After a fairly evenly contested 5-0 unanimous decision victory, Khalif will go for gold in the final at 5:51 a.m. ET on Tuesday. 토토사이트