PARIS — Atop her coach’s shoulders, arms in the air, a full house at the main stadium of Roland Garros cheering her on, Imane Khelif celebrated the perfect way to end a trying week.
The Algerian boxer on Friday won the Olympic gold medal in the women’s boxing 66-kilogram (145-pound) division, beating China’s Yang Liu and ending a difficult nine-day stretch that saw her become one of the stories of the Olympics due to accusations over her gender that she described as “bullying.”
For Friday’s final, Khelif came out to a massive roar on Philippe Chatrier Court. Her fight with Yang was the final event of the night, and for the first time in these Olympics, both were facing more equal talents after breezing through their early rounds, each with the size and reach to bother the other.
But it didn’t faze Khelif, who controlled the fight from the opening bell. She won the first round 10-9 on all five scorecards, then landed a big punch early in the second round to briefly daze Yang.
Khelif mostly defended from there, picking moments to throw jabs and avoiding Yang’s increasingly frantic attempts to close the distance. After the second round, it was clear — the gold medal was hers, barring any major errors. She spent the final round avoiding that outcome. No judge…
