Paris 2024: Hungarian Boxer cries out ahead of bout against “controversial” Algerian female Boxer

The controversy around Algerian boxer Imane Khelif doesn’t look like stopping as long as she continues to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Khelif has been at the centre of a huge dispute between the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and International Boxing Association (IBA) over her level of testosterone.

While the IOC have given Khelif and Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan the green light to compete, IBA has reservations over their participation in the competition due to their disqualification from the 2023 World Boxing Championship over their testosterone levels.

Khelif beat Italy’s Angela Carini in the 66kg preliminary stage after Carini abandoned the fight after 46 seconds. She cried while on her knees and refused to shake hands with Khelif.

In the lead up to her upcoming bout on Saturday, August 3 against Anna Luca Hamori of Hungary, the latter boxer has stated on social media that she doesn’t think “it’s fair” that Khelif is competing in Paris.

The Hungarian Olympic Committee stated that it wanted to see, “the right of female competitors to equal opportunities and fair competition.”

In a recent statement, IOC Spokesperson, Mark Adams stated that, “The Algerian Boxer (Imane Khelif) was born a female, was registered female, lived her life as a female, boxed as a female, has a female passport.”