Algeria's Imane Khelif competes in Friday's gold medal match despite the ongoing controversy over her eligibility. GETTY IMAGES

Imane Khelif, the boxer at the centre of an Olympic gender eligibility row, goes for gold in Paris on Friday. The boxing competition has been overshadowed by a widely publicised controversy over whether Algeria’s Khelif and Taiwanese Lin Yu-ting should be allowed to compete in the women's category.

The gender furore ignited when Khelif defeated Italy’s Angela Carini in 46 seconds in her opening bout: the Italian was reduced to tears and abandoned the fight after suffering a badly hurt nose. 

The International Boxing Association’s (IBA) Kremlin-linked president Umar Kremlev claimed at a chaotic press conference that both fighters had "genetic testing that shows that these are men".



Khelif and Lin were disqualified from last year's world championships by the International Boxing Association (IBA) after failing unspecified gender eligibility tests. However, she and Lin were cleared to compete in Paris by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which is organising the sport at the Games because of financial, governance and ethical concerns at the IBA.

The IOC has leapt to the defence of Khelif and Lin, with President Thomas Bach saying they were born and raised as women, with the documentation to support it. Neither boxer is known to identify as transgender. The 25-year-old Khelif and Lin both fought at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago but there was no controversy at the time and neither won a medal. 

This time, however, both contenders have advanced to the final rounds at the Paris Olympics. On Friday, Algeria's Khelif takes on China's Yang Liu in the 66kg final while Lin is in action on Saturday in a different weight category. Cries of "Imane, Imane" rang out repeatedly before and during Khelif's semi-final bout on Tuesday as the crowd voiced their support for the boxer.

Imane Khelif with Italy's Angela Carini in the match that started the controversy. GETTY IMAGES
Imane Khelif with Italy's Angela Carini in the match that started the controversy. GETTY IMAGES

"I am like all athletes, I am here to achieve my dream," she said. A day after Khelif reached the gold-medal match, Lin claimed a unanimous points decision victory over Turkiye’s Esra Yildiz Kahraman at 57kg in her semi-final. 

After the decision came through, the Turk made an X sign with her fingers to the crowd, just like another of Lin's beaten opponents had in a previous bout. "The feeling of entering the gold-medal match is one of gratitude to myself for making it this far," said the 28-year-old Lin afterwards. 

"After going out in the first round of the Tokyo Olympics, it's been a tough journey to reach the finals." The women’s 66kg final where Khelif takes on Yang begins at 22:51 CEST at Roland Garros, the home of French tennis.