Algerian boxer Imane Khelif is one win away from Olympic glory.
The 25-year-old will compete in the women’s 66 kg gold medal bout after defeating Thailand’s Janjaem Suwannapheng by unanimous decision in Tuesday’s semifinal.
Khelif will face Yang Liu of China in Friday’s final.
Khelif and fellow boxer Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan have been the subject of hateful rhetoric during the Games over misconceptions about their gender.
The vitriol stems from claims by the International Boxing Association, which has been permanently banned from the Olympics, that both Khelif and Lin failed unspecified eligibility tests for the women’s competition at last year’s world championships.
“I send a message to all the people of the world to uphold the Olympic principles and the Olympic Charter, to refrain from bullying all athletes, because this has effects, massive effects,” Khelif said in an interview with The Associated Press in Arabic on Monday. “It can destroy people, it can kill people’s thoughts, spirit and mind. It can divide people. And because of that, I ask them to refrain from bullying.”
IOC president Thomas Bach has been supportive of the two boxers and their right to compete at the Olympics.
“We will not take part in a politically motivated… cultural war,” Bach said at a news briefing Saturday. “What is going on in this context in the social media with all this hate speech, with this aggression and abuse, and fuelled by this agenda, is totally unacceptable.”
With files from The Associated Press.
