Boxer Imane Khelif will fight for an Olympic gold medal on Friday after putting aside the row surrounding her eligibility to comprehensively win her semi-final against Janjaem Suwannapheng in Paris.
The Algerian welterweight is one of two boxers competing in Paris despite being disqualified from last year’s World Championships by the International Boxing Association (IBA) after she was reported to have failed gender eligibility tests.
Amid wild support under the roof of Court Philippe Chatrier – the French tennis venue repurposed for the boxing finals – Khelif dominated her Thai opponent to win by unanimous decision.
The win secured progression to her first Olympic final, having been knocked out in the quarter-finals in Tokyo three years ago.
She will fight Liu Yang of China in the gold-medal bout, bidding to become Algerian’s first boxing gold medallist.
“I am focused,” the 25-year-old said.
“I am here for a good performance and my dream. I will give everything I have for the final.”
After the result was confirmed she dropped her guard and danced on the canvas, and a bout fought in good spirits ended with an embrace between the two fighters.
“I had heard about the news regarding her, but I wasn’t following it closely,” Suwannapheng said.
“She is a woman, but she is very strong. I tried to use my speed, but my opponent was just too strong.”
Khelif added: “I am very happy. I am happy for all the support here in Paris.
“I want to thank all of the people of Algeria who came here.”