Algerian Imane Khelif wins boxing gold medal after her gender was wrongly questioned.

 Algerian Imane Khelif won welterweight gold Friday, dispatching China’s Yang Liu and overcoming a firestorm of questions from opponents wrongly questioning her gender. Khelif won in a unanimous decision as a large Algerian crowd at famed Roland-Garros Stadium cheered her on with chants of "allez Imane" and "1, 2, 3 Algérie!" “I’m very happy, God made that (happen), that’s my dream!" Khelif said moments after the bout. Throughout the fight, female Algerian fans could be heard cheering her with the zaghrouta, a high-pitched staccato chant. Khelif said she heard her fans at Roland-Garros.

“I want to thank all the people here," she said pointing into the stands, "and the people of Algeria to come support me, my coach and Team Algeria.” All five judges had it 10-9 for Khelif in each round. After the win, a man in her corner hoisted the fighter onto his shoulders and took Khelif on a victory lap as she held an Algerian flag over her head. The fighter said she blocked out the outside noise and just concentrated on boxing.

“Yeah I’m very happy for my performance," she said. "This fight for a win. Amazing. I prepared eight years in USA, in Europe, all over the world for this victory. Olympic championship! Thank you so much!” Khelif's gold was celebrated at home in Algeria with President Abdelmadjid Tebboune saying the fighter made all Algerians proud.“​We are all proud of you, Imane, as an Olympic champion," he said in a statement. "Your victory today belongs to Algeria, and your gold is Algeria’s gold. Khelif held up her gold medal for the cameras and said this was a culmination of eight years of work.

"Long live Algeria. Algeria deserves more than just a medal," she said. "I called this (medal) a medal of honor. It is a medal of honor. Praise Allah for everything. I dedicate this (medal) to all the Arab world." Khelif and another boxer, featherweight Lin Yu-Ting of Chinese Taipei, have been fighting under a cloud in France after the Algerian’s opening victory over Angela Carini, who quit after 46 seconds. The Italian’s rapid surrender brought to light 2023 allegations made by the Russian-led International Boxing Association which removed those two fighters from a competition in New Delhi last year.