PARIS – Algerian boxer Imane Khelif is headed back into the ring Tuesday at the Paris Olympics.
She’ll be fighting for a chance to win a silver or gold medal despite an ongoing ordeal during the Games.
She and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting have been subjected to abuse on social media and inaccurate online speculation about their gender, even though the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said they both met all criteria and that there’s no question they are women. But they’re both thriving inside the ring.
Khelif has advanced to the semifinals of the welterweight division (146 pounds). She’ll be facing a familiar foe – Thailand’s Janjaem Suwannapheng. Khelif, 25, beat Suwannapheng in the semifinals of the 2023 world championships before Khelif was disqualified for allegedly failing what the organizers called a ‘gender eligibility test.’
The International Boxing Association (IBA), a discredited organization with no role in the Olympics, disqualified Khelif and Taiwanese boxer Lin without providing evidence of any failed tests.
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Lin is scheduled to fight in her semifinal match Wednesday.
When is Imane Khelif’s next fight?
4:34 p.m. ET, Tuesday
How to watch Imane Khelif’s next fight
The fight will be broadcast on NBC/Peacock.
Where will the match be held?
Roland Garros Stadium, home of the French Open
Why is Imane Khelif guaranteed bronze?
A victory for Khelif would vault her into the finals, where the winner would win gold and the runner-up would take silver. But she’s already guaranteed bronze.
In Olympic boxing, bronze medals are awarded to both losing semifinalists in the single-elimination format tournament.
Olympic boxing basics
Bouts are scheduled for three rounds and are scored by five judges. Using a 10-point system, each judge awards 10 points to the boxer they deem won the round and at least nine points to the boxer they deem lost the round.
Barring a stoppage, the winner of the bout will be determined by points based on the judges’ scorecards. A boxer earns one point for each judge who deems the boxer has won at least two of the three rounds.
Imane Khelif’s road to the semifinals
In Khelif’s opening bout, Italy’s Angela Carini abandoned the fight only 46 seconds into the match. Khelif demonstrated she could deliver a punch – one solidly connected with Carini’s face before the Italian quit fighting – and Khelif secured a spot in the quarterfinals.
In Khelif’s quarterfinal bout, she beat Hungary’s Anna Luca Hamori on points by unanimous decision, 5-0. This time she had nine minutes to perform and showed impressive boxing skills in dominating Hamori.
Khelif, who made her amateur boxing debut in 2018, is 38-9 with five knockouts as an amateur, according to BoxRec.
Who is Janjaem Suwannapheng?
The 23-year-old won her first two bouts by split decision. The victories came against Brigitte Mbabi of the Democratic Republic of The Congo and Busenaz Surmeneli of Turkey.
She made her amateur boxing debut in 2019 and is 14-5 with one knockout, according to BoxRec.
