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Imane Khelif wins boxing bout to guarantee an Olympic medal amid ongoing controversy

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Imane Khelif beat Anna Luca Hamori by unanimous decision to guarantee herself a medal at the Paris Olympics

The Algerian came into the arena to rapturous applause, whilst Hamori was jeered by the strong contingent of fans from the African nation. Unlike Khelif's dramatic victory on Thursday, there were no early fireworks although she did control much of the opening round winning on all five scorecards from the ringside judges.

It was a similar story in the second, although Hamori did have more success - not enough though as the judges again scored it unanimously for Khelif. She was deducted a point in the third and final round but it made no difference to the final result.

And after her hand was raised in victory Hamori shook hands and congratulated the victor despite a turbulent build up. The win sets up a semi final with Janjaem Suwannapheng, but Khelif will win at least a bronze medal even if she loses that encounter.

Khelif came under fire at the 2024 Games after taking part in the women's boxing event despite failing an unspecified gender eligibility test last year. In her first-round encounter, her opponent Angela Carini withdrew early in their fight after claiming she had never been hit so hard in her career - breaking down in tears in the middle of the ring.

Attention quickly turned to Khelif's next fight against Hamori - but the Hungarian appeared unfazed before the bout and shared a picture of a small women facing a muscled beast with horns in the ring on her Instagram page.

She said she had been avoiding stories about Khelif and comments on social media and that she was purely preparing for the fight, adding: "I'm not scared. I don't care about the press story and social media. If she or he is a man, it will be a bigger victory for me if I win."

Despite widespread debate about Khelif's eligibility to compete, Carini backtracked on Saturday and said she wanted to apologise to Khelif following huge media attention - claiming "all this controversy makes me sad".

“I’m sorry for my opponent, too. … If the IOC said she can fight, I respect that decision. It wasn’t something I intended to do [ignoring the handshake],” Carini added. “Actually, I want to apologise to her and everyone else. I was angry because my Olympics had gone up in smoke. I don’t have anything against Khelif. Actually, if I were to meet her again I would embrace her.”

Imane Khelif's win over Angela Carini resulted in a media storm after controversially taking part in the women's boxing event at the Paris Games (
Image:
Fabio Bozzani/Anadolu via Getty Images))

Initially Carini clarified she quit the fight because she had "enough" after just one or two hits from Khelif and said she feared for her health following "strong pain" in her nose.

"I wasn't able to finish the match. I felt a strong pain to my nose and I said [to myself] for the experience that I have and the maturity as a woman that I have, I said I hope my nation won't take it badly, I hope my dad won't take it badly - but I stopped, I said stop for myself," she told BBC Sport immediately after the fight.

"It could have been the match of a lifetime, but I had to preserve my life as well in that moment. I didn't have fear, I don't fear the ring. I don't fear taking the blows. But this time there's an end for everything, and I put an end to this match, because I wasn't able to [continue]."

A social media storm has seen Harry Potter writer JK Rowling and former Prime Minister Liz Truss speak out to condemn Khelif's participation in the women's 66kg event, with the IOC stepping in to release a statement.

It said "every person has the right to practise sport without discrimination" and added that every athlete had passed its rules and regulations to compete in Paris.

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