Olympic Boxing Women’s 66kg: Chinese Fighter Yang Liu to Face Controversial Iman Khelif in Final

On the morning of August 7, in the semi-final of the women’s 66kg boxing event at the Paris Olympics, Chinese fighter Yang Liu defeated Chen Nianqin from Chinese Taipei 4-1 to advance to the final. Her opponent in the final will be Algerian fighter Iman Khelif, who has been at the center of controversy over gender issues during these Games.

In her path to the final, Iman Khelif has become one of the most controversial athletes of this Olympic Games. In the first round, she knocked out Italian fighter Carlina within just 46 seconds, seemingly breaking her opponent’s nose after a punch to the face. Carlina not only quit the match but also refused to shake hands with Khelif. Afterward, she stated, “I have never been hit by such a powerful punch.”

The gender controversy surrounding Iman Khelif began at the 2023 World Championships, when the International Boxing Association (IBA) found her testosterone levels to be unusually high and detected the XY chromosomes, which are typically male, during DNA testing. As a result, her eligibility for the final was revoked.

However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) rejected the IBA’s decision on this matter. IOC President Thomas Bach publicly defended both Iman Khelif and Lin Yuting, another athlete from Chinese Taipei who faced similar gender controversies.

He said, “We have two boxers who were born as females, raised as females, hold female passports, and have competed as females for many years. This is a clear definition of being female. There has never been any doubt about their identity as women.”

It is understood that Iman Khelif is not transgender, as some rumors suggest. She was raised as a female from childhood but suffers from a rare condition known as Swyer syndrome, which causes underdeveloped XY gonads and results in certain male physical characteristics.