Imane Khelif, the Algerian athlete who failed a gender test, expressed that she derives a special sense of victory from the criticism she faces.
I'm a woman like any other woman. I was born a woman, I lived a woman, I competed as a woman, there's no doubt about that. [The detractors] are enemies of success, that is what I call them. And that also gives my success a special taste because of these attacks. With this gold medal, my dignity, my honor is above everything else.
Khelif became the Olympic boxing champion in the women's 66 kg category by winning the final match against China’s Yang Liu with a unanimous decision from the judges.
In the round of 16, 25-year-old Khelif defeated Italy’s Angela Carini, who chose not to continue the fight just 46 seconds into the first round. In the quarterfinals, the Algerian triumphed over Hungary's Anna Luka Hamori, and in the semifinals, she overcame Thailand’s Janjaem Suwannapheng.