Imane Khelif's Next Opponent Not Concerned About Gender Controversy At Olympics, Is Trying To Avoid The Story

Boxer Imane Khelif has all of a sudden become the most-talked-about athlete at the Paris Olympics, but the Algerian's next opponent is not concerned about the spotlight their bout will be under on Saturday.

Khelif has been pushed to the forefront of the sports world due to failing a gender test in the past, resulting in their removal from the Women's World Boxing Championship in March 2023.  A series of DNA tests "uncovered athletes who were trying to fool their colleagues and pretend to be women." 

Khelif needed all of 46 seconds and a couple of landed punches to force her opponent, Italian Angela Carini, to abandon their match in the opening round of the women's boxing tournament.

The other athlete in question, Taiwan's Lin Yu-Ting, won their first match in the Paris Games on Friday.

Anna Luca Hamori, the first Hungarian boxer to ever qualify for the Olympics, will step into the ring with Khelif in what will undoubtedly be a monumental task, but one she's up for.

"I’m not scared," Hamori told reporters. "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."

Hamori is doing her best to stay off of her phone and social media ahead of her bout with Khelif.

"I’m trying to not use my phone before the fight," Hamor, who defeated Marissa Williamson Pohlman of Australia in her first fight, said. "I don’t want to care about the comments or the story or the news. I just want to stay focused on myself. I did it before my last two fights, so I think this is the key, and we will see."

Hungary's Anna Luca Hamori celebrates after winning against Ireland's Grainne Walsh in the women's 66kg preliminaries round of 32 boxing match during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the North Paris Arena, in Villepinte on July 28, 2024. (Photo by MOHD RASFAN / AFP) (Photo by MOHD RASFAN/AFP via Getty Images)

After a firestorm across social media and global news networks following Khelif's quick victory on Thursday, the IOC released a statement making it clear that all fighter's in the women's division meet its eligibility requirements.

"Everyone competing in the women’s category is complying with the competition eligibility rules," IOC spokesman Mark Adams explained. "They are women in their passports and it’s stated that this is the case, that they are female."

The International Boxing Association, which disqualified Lin and Khelif from the 2023 Women's World Boxing Championships, followed up the IOC's statement with one of its own.

"IBA remains committed in ensuring competitive fairness in all of our events, we absolutely condemn the inconsistencies in eligibility to compete in the boxing competition held in the Paris Olympic Games 2024. To reiterate, both Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting post testing, did not meet the required eligibility criteria to compete within the female category of our respective events," the statement read in part.

"We absolutely do not understand why any organisation would put a boxer at risk with what could bring a potential serious injury within the ‘Field of Play’ (FOP). The main role of the referee in the ring is to manage the boxer’s safety at all times. How is this reasonably practicable when a boxer fails to meet the eligibility criteria to compete?"

"The IBA will never support any boxing bouts between the genders, as the organization puts the safety and well-being of our athletes first."