Hungarian boxer defeated by Algeria’s Khelif says she respects her opponent

Hungary’s welterweight boxer Luca Anna Hamori said on Saturday she lost fairly to Imane Khelif, the Algerian who has been at the centre of an eligibility storm at the Paris Olympics.

Khelif beat Hamori on a unanimous decision in the Olympic quarter-finals and her opponent said she had no complaints.

“I cannot say a single bad word about my opponent,” Hamori, who hugged Khelif after the final bell, told reporters.

“The last few days have been difficult for everyone. I have respect for her, I don’t have a bad thought for her, this situation is not her fault,” she said.

“We both put up a fight, that’s the way it is now, it could be different in the future. The situation has not ruined my Olympics at all.”

Khelif, a silver medallist at the 2022 World Championships, and Taiwanese featherweight Lin Yu-ting, have been in the spotlight at the Paris Games after a gender row that has dominated headlines and been much discussed on social media.

The pair fell foul in 2023 of International Boxing Association (IBA) eligibility rules, which include preventing athletes with XY chromosomes from competing in women’s events. The IBA did not specify on what grounds they failed.

It has never been shown that they have a genetic condition giving rise to a Difference of Sexual Development (DSD) and the two boxers were cleared to fight in Paris by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni raised the issue with IOC chief Thomas Bach after Italian boxer Angela Carini pulled out during her round-of-16 bout against Khelif after sustaining a series of crushing blows.

“Necessary decisions”

After Saturday’s fight, the Hungarian National Olympic Committee (NOC) called for “consequences” in a joint statement with Hamori and Balazs Furjes, Hungary’s IOC representative.

“These consequences will have to be duly evaluated after the Paris Games,” the body added.

“As long-standing and loyal members of the international Olympic family, we are 100 percent convinced that the International Olympic Committee will make the necessary decisions and we are also 100 percent convinced that the IOC will make the right decisions.

“Naturally, the Hungarian Olympic family will duly participate in such evaluation and decision-making procedure.”

The IOC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Furjes said there was never a question of Hamori not fighting Khelif.

Asked whether he believed it was a fair fight, he said: “As loyal members of the international Olympics family, we are 100 per cent convinced, 100 per cent convinced that the International Olympic Committee will make the right decisions.”

“We Hungarians are always ready to fight bravely and that’s what Luca has just done and showed us. We’re not afraid of difficult circumstances and we are ready to fight even in difficult circumstances.”

Hamori added: “I wish good luck to my opponent and the others in the finals.”

Khelif’s father says he is honoured by his daughter

The father of Imane Khelif, the Algerian boxer at the centre of an Olympic row over whether athletes with Differences of Sexual Development (DSD) should compete as women, said she had honoured his family, calling attacks against her immoral.

In an interview at his simple, cinderblock home on the outskirts of the northern Algerian city of Tiaret, Amar Khelif said he was proud of his daughter and backed her to win a medal for all of Algeria.

“Having such a daughter is an honour because she is a champion, she honoured me and I encourage her and I hope she will get the medal in Paris,” he said. “Imane is a little girl that has loved sport since she was six-years-old.”

He shared with Reuters an official-looking document, which showed her birthday.

“This is our family official document, May 2, 1999, Imane Khelif, female. It is written here you can read it, this document doesn’t lie,” he said.

The IOC, which states that inclusion should be the default and athletes should only be excluded from women’s competition if there are clear fairness or safety issues, has defended its decision to allow Khelif to compete.

In the Tiaret boxing club, where a poster featuring Khelif looms over the ring, young female boxers sprung to their idol’s defence.

Bouchra Rebihi, a 17-year-old who dreams of turning pro, scorned Khelif’s naysayers.

“I know Imane Khelif as the champion of Algeria many times, champion of Africa as well, and also Arab champion,” she said.

“These critics aim to destabilize her to fail in the boxing ring but she is a champion and she will remain a champion.”