Olympics 2024: Algerians rally behind gold as Khelif advances to final

Relatives and neighbors erupted in cheers on Tuesday when Algeria's Imane Khelif advanced to the Olympic final in women's boxing, winning a clear unanimous decision over Janjaem Suwannapheng of Thailand.

In Ain Mesbah, the rural cinderblock-built town where the boxer was raised, legions of supporters convened on her uncle's home to watch Khelif's match. With news camera lights shining on the gathering, they drank orange juice, waved flags and whistled as Khelif jumped around the ring in excitement about advancing to Friday's gold medal match.

Between the quarterfinals and the semifinals, we were on edge, said Rachid Khelif, referencing the wave of uninformed speculation about his niece's gender. We were afraid that these attacks would affect her psychologically. But thank God, we saw Imane in a good state of mind.

Few Algerians could have imagined that a 25-year-old welder's daughter from the drought-stricken Tiaret region could unite the population in such a way. But the ...