MEDALS ASSURED AMID ROW ON GENDER

Algeria’s Khelif and Chinese Taipei’s Lin will win at least bronze after reaching the semis

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PARIS Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, bidding to become her country's first woman to win an Olympic boxing gold medal, said she is proud after guaranteeing herself a medal amid a row over her eligibility for the Paris Games.

The 25-year-old beat Hungary's Luca Anna Hamori by unanimous decision in the 66kg quarter-final fight on Aug 3 to ensure at least a bronze medal - Algeria's first boxing medal since 2000.

Khelif and a second boxer, Chinese Taipei's Lin Yu-ting, fell foul in 2023 of the International Boxing Association's (IBA) eligibility rules, which include preventing athletes with XY chromosomes from competing in women's events.

Both boxers were disqualified at the 2023 World Championships in New Delhi.

The IBA did not specify on what grounds they failed, and it has not been shown that they have a genetic condition giving rise to a difference of sexual development.

Lin also assured herself of a medal on Aug 4, after she beat Svetlana Staneva of Bulgaria by unanimous decision in their 57kg quarter-final.