Janjaem Suwannapheng says she is ‘not afraid’ of Imane Khelif and insists they are ‘evenly matched’ ahead of their boxing semi-final at the Paris Olympics.
The Thai fighter advanced from her 66kg quarter-final against Turkey’s Busenaz Surmeneli to set up a bout against Algeria’s Khelif, with the pair set to do battle on Tuesday evening.
Khelif’s participation at the Games has been met with controversy after she was disqualified from last year’s Women’s World Championships for failing International Boxing Association (IBA) gender eligibility rules.
But Khelif – who got the better of Hungary’s Anna Luca Hamori in her quarter-final – has always competed in the women’s division and has identified as female since birth.
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The IBA have not divulged details behind Khelif’s disqualification at the World Championships, though have repeatedly questioned the IOC’s decision to the Algerian – and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting – to compete the French capital this summer.
A distraught Angela Carini abandoned her fight with Khelif after just 46 seconds earlier in the competition, with the Italian claiming she had been ‘hit so hard she couldn’t breathe’ in the wake of her defeat.
However, Suwannapheng fancies her chances against Khelif, despite coming out second best in their previous meeting in India last year.
‘I’ve improved since then and I’ll fight with all I’ve got,’ Suwannapheng told Thai newspaper Khaosod.
‘I’ve looked into it too, about her hormones, and I know she’s lost to female boxers before, but that was a long time ago.
‘I’m not sure if she’s got stronger or if her male hormones have increased.’
Suwannapheng added: ‘But if we meet again, I’m not afraid because we’re evenly matched.
‘I’ve prepared my body well too, trained a lot. I just think, no matter how strong or tough, we’re both human, we both have two fists.
‘Having come this far, I want to go all the way to the gold medal.’
‘My child is a girl. She was raised as a girl,’ Omar Khelif told French broadcaster BFM TV.
‘She is a strong girl. I raised her to work and be brave.’
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