Imane Khelif's Next Opponent Anna Luca Hamori’s Boxing Federation Condemns Algerian Boxer’s Participation at Paris Olympics 2024

Villepinte (France), August 2 (AP) The Hungarian Boxing Association says it is sending letters of protest to both the IOC and Hungary's Olympic committee over Anna Luca Hamori's quarter-final matchup with Imane Khelif of Algeria in women's boxing at the Paris Olympics. Hamori will still accept her fight on Saturday against Khelif, according to MTI, Hungary's state news agency. MTI was told of the association's plans Friday by Lajos Berkó, a member of the association's executive board. The association also is investigating the possibility of legally challenging Khelif's presence. “I am very sad that there is a scandal and that we have to talk about a topic that is not compatible with sport,” Berkó said. “This is unacceptable and outrageous." IOC Issues Statement Amid Boxers Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-Ting’s Gender Row at Paris Olympics 2024, Says ‘Every Person Has the Right To Practice Sport Without Discrimination’.

The boxing association plans to “express our indignation and request that the IOC reconsider its decision, which allowed a competitor into the IOC competition system who was previously banned from the (International Boxing Association's) world championships,” Berkó said. Khelif and fellow boxer Lin Yu-ting of Chinese Taipei were disqualified from the 2023 world championships after they had already competed. The IBA ruled that Khelif and Lin had failed unspecified gender eligibility tests, but provided no documentation. Indian Sprinter Dutee Chand Reacts to Controversy at Paris Olympics 2024 Surrounding Algerian Boxer Imane Khelif Who Failed Gender Test, Says 'I Faced It' (Watch Video).

Both fighters had competed in IBA events for several years. Hamori is Hungary's first women's boxer at the Olympics, and she expressed no qualms about fighting Khelif immediately after she earned her quarter-final berth in the 66-kilogram division by trouncing Australia's Marissa Williamson Pohlman. “I'm not scared,” Hamori said. “I don't care about the press story and social media." Khelif's first opponent at Paris, Angela Carini of Italy, quit their bout after 46 seconds. Her tearful reaction to abandoning the fight made international headlines, and Carini received a visit from Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni. “This from my point of view was not an equal competition,” Meloni said Thursday while in Paris, where she consoled Carini after she ended the match.

On Friday, Meloni met with IOC President Thomas Bach, and both agreed that the Italian government and IOC “would remain in contact to evaluate how to confront the issue in the future.” (AP)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)