PARIS: The Algerian boxer embroiled in a major gender controversy guaranteed herself at least bronze at the Paris Olympics after winning her quarter-final on Saturday on unanimous points.

Imane Khelif, who has found herself in the eye of a global storm along with another boxer from Taiwan, comfortably beat Hungary’s Anna Luca Hamori to reach the semi-finals of the women’s 66kg category.

The duo embraced at the end, before the judges’ verdict was delivered, and Khelif left the ring in tears. Some of the crowd at North Paris Arena, where there were a large number of Algerians, chanted Khelif’s name ahead of the bout and cheered her into the ring.

Hamori, who had said it was unfair to face Khelif, was booed into the venue but was magnanimous in defeat. Khelif faces Janjaem Suwannapheng of Thailand in the last four on Tuesday for a place in the final. Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting can also guarantee herself at least a bronze medal on Sunday when she faces Bulgaria’s Svetlana Staneva in the quarter-finals of the women’s 57kg. Losing semi-finalists in the boxing take home bronze.

Khelif and Lin were disqualified from last year’s world championships after failing gender eligibility tests. The controversy ignited on Thursday when Khelif needed just 46 seconds to win her opening bout in the French capital, forcing an abandonment against her hurt and tearful Italian opponent Angela Carini. Carini, who suffered a badly hurt nose and was distressed, collapsed to the centre of the ring in tears. The 25-year-old Khelif and Lin, 28, both competed at the Tokyo Games three years ago, where they failed to win a medal.

They were then disqualified from the 2023 world championships, run by the International Boxing Association (IBA). The IBA said this week that the two boxers “did not undergo a testosterone examination but were subject to a separate and recognised test, whereby the specifics remain confidential”.

The boxing in Paris is organised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which took over because of governance, financial and ethical issues at the IBA. The IOC has leapt to the defence of Khelif and Lin, with president Thomas Bach on Saturday saying they were born and raised as women, and have passports saying that.

Neither boxer is known to identify as transgender. Khelif’s father Omar told AFP from their Algerian village: “My child is a girl. “She was raised as a girl. She is a strong girl — I raised her to work and be brave.”

Meanwhile, the International Boxing Association has pledged to award prize money to Italy’s Angela Carini, whose 46-second Olympics defeat to an Algerian boxer at the centre of a gender eligibility row has left the sport on the ropes.

Carini stopped her fight against Algeria’s Imane Khelif after receiving two strong punches to the face, refused to shake hands with her opponent and then collapsed to the canvas sobbing. But the bout sparked controversy as Khelif had been disqualified by the IBA during last year’s world championship after failing unspecified gender eligibility tests.

There is no suggestion that Khelif, who has fought on the women’s circuit for years, including in the Tokyo Olympics, identifies as anything other than a woman. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) cleared her to fight at the Paris Games as they use the gender stated on the passport as their criterion for eligibility.

Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting appear to be caught in the crossfire of a row between the IBA and the IOC, which ejected the boxing body from the Olympic movement after financial and ethical irregularities. Referring to Carini’s reaction at the end of the bout, IBA President Umar Kremlev said: “I couldn’t look at her tears.”

“I am not indifferent to such situations, and I can assure that we will protect each boxer. I do not understand why they kill women’s boxing,” added Kremlev. “Only eligible athletes should compete in the ring for the sake of safety.”

The IBA said it would reward Carini prize money “as if she were an Olympic champion.” The association said it was awarding all gold medallists $100,000, of which $25,000 will go to the national federation and $25,000 to the coach. It was not immediately clear how much Carini would be offered and the IBA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Carini has since apologised for not congratulating her opponent. “All the controversy made me sad and I’m sorry for my opponent too. It’s nothing to do with her. She was here like me to fight,” she told the Gazzetta dello Sport.

“I was angry because my Olympics had just gone up in smoke but I’ve nothing against Imane Khelif. On the contrary, if I saw her again, I’d give her a hug,” she added. Khelif fights later Saturday in the women’s 66kg quarter-final against Hungary’s Anna Luca Hamori, with victory guaranteeing her medal, as all semi-finalists get at least bronze. — AFP