Is Paris set for the most controversial Olympic boxing match of all time? Gender row Algerian Imane Khelif fights tonight for a place in the final and a chance to win GOLD amid growing fury

Controversial gender statement boxer Imane Khelif fights successful her semi-final coming – perchance mounting up nan Olympics’ astir arguable last ever. 

Khelif, 25, has been astatine nan centre of contention arsenic she is competing successful nan Paris Games aft being antecedently disqualified from nan World Championships for failing a gender eligibility test.

She could now beforehand to nan welterweight boxing last and truthful get nan chance to triumph nan golden badge if she wins her conflict against Janjaem Suwannapheng of Thailand successful nan semi-final tonight. 

Khelif's arguable clip astatine nan Olympics saw her triumph against her Italian opponent, Angela Carini, successful conscionable 46 seconds aft Carini discontinue nan lucifer and sank to her knees successful tears, saying 'it's conscionable not fair'.

But it was nan Algerian who was reduced to tears after her past conflict against Hungarian Anna Luca Hamori - earlier shouting from nan ring: 'I americium a woman,' hitting backmost astatine claims she was a man.

Asked why she was being targeted astatine these Olympics, Khelif said yesterday: 'This is nan mobility I americium asking myself. Why now? Why is this happening now?

'I don't care. What's important Is that I came present pinch a attraction connected my goal, which is nan Olympics.

'Today I americium successful nan semi-finals. God willing, I will beryllium up to nan situation successful nan semifinals. And God willing, I will beryllium capable to support it nether power and walk these 2 stages and nan semifinals.'

She said she should look nan aforesaid protections enjoyed by different athletes astatine nan games.

She added: 'I nonstop a connection to each nan group of nan world to uphold nan Olympic principles according to nan Olympic charter, to refrain from bullying each athletes because this point has effects, monolithic effects.

'It tin destruct people. It tin termination people's thoughts, spirits, and mind. And it tin disagreement people.

'And because of that I inquire them to refrain from bullying. And that's it.'

In an question and reply pinch Associated Press TV, she said she had concerns astir nan effects connected her relations backmost successful Algeria.

'I americium successful interaction pinch my family 2 days a week. I dream they were not affected deeply. They are worried astir me. God willing, this situation will culminate successful a golden badge and that would beryllium nan champion response.'

Carini, who first faced disconnected against Khelif, complained aft nan lucifer that Khelif's punches were dissimilar thing she had felt earlier and thereby drew attraction to nan speculation complete her gender. 

Carini later said she regretted her determination and wished to apologise to Khelif for stepping retired of nan ring.

But nan shocking ending to nan bout aft conscionable 46 seconds triggered a activity of vitriol directed astatine nan Algerian connected societal media, pinch galore high-profile figures - including erstwhile US President Donald Trump and Harry Potter writer J.K. Rowling - falsely claiming Khelif was a man aliases transgender.

Khelif herself has said that nan activity of hateful scrutiny she has faced complete misconceptions astir her gender 'harms quality dignity,' and has called for an extremity to bullying athletes aft being greatly affected by nan world backlash against her.

Khelif, who was calved a female and described by Olympic main Thomas Bach arsenic 'a woman... a woman… a woman', had been targeted by nan International Boxing Association (IBA) astatine nan World championships successful India. 

But she remained defiant aft her 2nd Hungarian rival posted a image connected nan net successful nan tally up to nan conflict of 'a beauty and a beast.'

Hamori, earlier stepping into nan ringing pinch Khelif, declared she would participate her adjacent conflict not concerned whether she would beryllium contesting nan bout pinch a man aliases a woman.

But it only helped summation nan attraction connected Khelif's activity and Olympic chiefs slammed nan online 'hate speech' levied towards her.

Khelif expressed gratitude to nan IOC and its president Thomas Bach for opinionated resolutely down her while nan banned erstwhile governing assemblage of Olympic boxing stoked a furore astir her information successful Paris.

'I cognize that nan Olympic Committee has done maine justice, and I americium happy pinch this remedy because it shows nan truth,' she said.

Khelif was 1 of 2 boxers to person their activity questioned astatine nan Olympics pinch nan 2nd being Taipei's Lin Yu-Ting who has besides secured astatine slightest a bronze.

Khelif and Yu-Ting, 28, were disqualified from past year's World Championships, aft they were reported to person grounded gender tests. 

Neither are trans, but officials from nan Russian backed IBA, which issued nan ban, said some had XY chromosomes, nan antheral cistron - but continually refused to specify what benignant of trial they administered to Khelif.

The governing assemblage was permanently banned from nan Olympics past twelvemonth amid concerns complete its murky testing standards and governance. 

World Boxing Organisation (WBO) charismatic Istvan Kovacs claimed nan International Olympic Committee (IOC) was warned that Khelif supposedly grounded nan IBA-administered female gender test. 

Kovacs, who is nan European vice president of nan WBO and erstwhile Secretary General of nan IBA - which was permanently banned from nan Olympics past twelvemonth amid concerns complete its murky testing standards and governance - declared nan IOC was informed successful 2022 astir nan discrepancy but chose not to act. 

Kovacs, himself a erstwhile Olympic and world champion boxer, told Hungarian outlet Magyar Nemzet: 'The problem was not pinch nan level of Khelif's testosterone, because it tin beryllium adjusted nowadays, but pinch nan consequence of nan gender test, which intelligibly revealed that nan Algerian boxer is biologically male.'

But nan IBA's claims complete Khelif person been heavy scrutinised. Olympic officials opportunity nan matter is simply a 'minefield' and that nary forensic and unquestionable technological grounds has been provided to beryllium some athletes were not women.

IOC President Thomas Bach said location is nary uncertainty Khelif is simply a biologic female and lambasted the unspecified IBA gender tests arsenic 'illegitimate'.

While Khelif could unafraid her chance successful nan last to conflict for golden tonight, Yu-Ting will return connected Turkey's Esra Yildiz successful nan featherweight semi-final tomorrow nighttime - and is already guaranteed astatine slightest a bronze medal.