Hungarian boxer Luca Hamori takes a below-the-belt dig at Imane Khelif before facing her in quarterfinal amid gender controversy at Paris Olympics

Luca Hamori has been attacking Imane Khelif's gender and is attempting to get her disqualified from women's boxing.

Hungarian boxer Luca Hamori takes a below-the-belt dig at Imane Khelif before facing her in quarterfinal amid gender controversy at Paris Olympics

Luca Hamori and Imane Khelif (Via Imago/screengrab)

The debate over Imane Khelif‘s eligibility to compete in the women’s Olympic boxing tournament continues to go on. The outrage began after Khelif’s first bout against Italy’s Angela Carini ended after 46 seconds when the latter withdrew and forfeited the match.

Following the fight, Carini was emotional and this resulted in allegations being leveled against Khelif that she was a man. However, the Algerian has identified as a woman since birth and there is no factual evidence that hints at her being transgender.

YouTube video

Imane Khelif‘s next match is against Hungary’s Anna Luca Hamori, who has begun to make a lot of noise in an attempt to get her opponent disqualified. Apart from having the Hungarian Boxing Association complain to the International Olympic Committee regarding Khelif’s participation in women’s boxing, Hamori crossed lines of sportsmanship and decency with a story she posted on her Instagram.

FS Video

Hamori posted a picture from one of her fans which depicts a woman and a muscular, built beast standing in the boxing ring with the title ‘Paris 2024’ right above them. She is alleging that her opponent, Imane Khelif is a beast and is indirectly alleging that she is transgender.

Hamori continued to like and repost numerous derogatory comments made by her fans against Khelif, the image was the final straw. She had hoped that with this, the fans would empathize with her, and her cry to get Khelif disqualified would be louder. But that is not what happened.

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Imane Khelif has received a lot of hate in the last few days over baseless speculation about her gender

Many began to criticize Luca Hamori for how she was handling this. The common criticism was that she was breaking the spirit of sportsmanship and more importantly, she was going against the Olympic Charter and the spirit of fair competition. The image posted by her via her Instagram story translates to ‘half breed’, a term used to describe animals but often used to berate humans.

Imane Khelif and Luca Hamori
Imane Khelif and Luca Hamori (via IMAGO)

Since her attempt to stir up anger against Khelif failed miserably, Luca Hamori has taken a step back from her social media presence. She had posted a TikTok video in which she cited an International Boxing Association test that led to the disqualification of Imane Khelif from the 2023 World Championships.

She used the results of this test as conclusive evidence to prove that her opponent is biologically male. However, here’s what she got wrong, the IBA has not provided much detail concerning the 2023 testing that disqualified Khelif.

The IBA in its statement after disqualifying Khelif in 2023 made it clear that she “did not undergo a testosterone examination but were subject to a separate and recognized test, whereby the specifics remain confidential.”

Clearly, her gender was never a point of concern. A report from Reuters revealed that IBA President Umar Kremlev told a news agency that Khelif has ‘XY Chromosomes.’ The presence of XY chromosomes in cisgender women can be attributed to the Swyer syndrome, a medical phenomenon.

It remains unclear if the International Olympic Committee will take any action against Luca Hamori for her attempt to tarnish her opponent’s reputation. In a statement issued on Thursday, the IOC affirmed Khelif’s eligibility to take part in the 2024 Paris Games. 

Every person has the right to practice sport without discrimination. All athletes participating in the boxing tournament of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 comply with the competition's eligibility and entry regulations, as well as all applicable medical regulations set by the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit (PBU).
IOC’s statement read

Hamori has shut the comments on her TikTok and Instagram account since. She is scheduled to face off against Khelif at 11:20 A.M. EST on Saturday, 3rd August.

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