Algerian boxerImane Khelif broke down in tears after winning her match against Hungary’s Anna Luca Hamori, hours after the latter posted a now-deleted mock picture depicting Khelif as a muscular beast on social media.
Khelif, who was welcomed on the ring like a rockstar by cheering supporters, has been targeted by persistent backlash online following her victory over Italy’s Angela Carini in a bout that lasted less than a minute.
One of Algeria’s first three Olympic women’s boxers sent to Tokyo three years ago, Khelif has faced some setbacks after being disqualified at last year’s Women’s World Championships, along with Taiwan’s Lin Yu‑ting, due to a gender eligibility test which reportedly revealed elevated levels of testosterone in their system.
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After Khelif won over Carini, she was accused to compete in the wrong gender category by several prominent figures such as J.K. Rowling who posted a picture from the fight on Xsaying: “Could any picture sum up our new men’s rights movement better?” She added that it showed the “smirk of a male who’s knows he’s protected by a misogynist sporting establishment enjoying the distress of a woman he’s just punched in the head, and whose life’s ambition he’s just shattered.” Elon Musk, meanwhile, shared a post from swimmer Riley Gaines that claimed “men don’t belong in women’s sports.” The X owner co-signed the message by writing: “Absolutely.”
Carini, who abandoned her match against Khelif after declaring she“never felt a punch like this,” has expressed regrets over the way she behaved with the Algerian boxer right after the bout. She was quoted in the Italian sports outlet Gazzetta dello Sport saying she “(wanted to) apologize” for not shaking Khelif’s hand after the game. “Actually, I want to apologize to her and everyone else. I was angry because my Olympics had gone up in smoke,” she said, adding that “All this controversy makes me sad (…) I’m sorry for my opponent, too. If the IOC said she can fight, I respect that decision.”
