Hungary officials pan boxer Imane Khelif's Olympic participation

VILLEPINTE, France -- The Hungarian Boxing Association says it is sending letters of protest to the IOC and to Hungary's Olympic committee over Anna Luca Hamori's quarterfinal matchup with Imane Khelif of Algeria in women's boxing at the Paris Olympics.

Hamori still will accept her fight Saturday against Khelif, according to MTI, Hungary's state news agency.

MTI was told of the association's plans Friday by Lajos Berkó, a member of the association's executive board. The association also is investigating the possibility of legally challenging Khelif's presence.

"I am very sad that there is a scandal and that we have to talk about a topic that is not compatible with sport," Berkó said. "This is unacceptable and outrageous."

The boxing association plans to "express our indignation and request that the IOC reconsider its decision, which allowed a competitor into the IOC competition system who was previously banned from the [International Boxing Association's] world championships," Berkó said.

Khelif and fellow boxer Lin Yu-ting of Chinese Taipei were disqualified from the 2023 world championships after they had already competed. The IBA ruled that Khelif and Lin had failed unspecified gender eligibility tests but provided no documentation. Both fighters had competed in IBA events for several years.

The IOC last year stripped the IBA of its status as boxing's governing body over governance issues and took charge of the Paris 2024 boxing competition itself. 

Lin won her featherweight round-of-16 bout Friday against Uzbekistan's Sidora Turdibekova on points by unanimous decision. She next faces Bulgaria's Svetlana Kamenova Staneva. 

The Bulgarian Olympic Committee, in a statement Friday, said it has contacted the IOC to object to Lin's participation in Paris. The Bulgarian governing body noted it had voiced its concerns during a July 27 meeting with the IOC's Medical and Scientific Commission.

Hamori is Hungary's first women's boxer at the Olympics, and she expressed no qualms about fighting Khelif immediately after she earned her quarterfinal berth in the 66-kilogram division by trouncing Australia's Marissa Williamson Pohlman.

"I'm not scared," Hamori said. "I don't care about the press story and social media."

Khelif's first opponent at Paris, Angela Carini of Italy, quit their bout after 46 seconds. Her tearful reaction to abandoning the fight made international headlines, and Carini received a visit from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

"This from my point of view was not an equal competition," Meloni said Thursday while in Paris, where she consoled Carini after the fighter ended the match.

On Friday, Meloni met with IOC president Thomas Bach, and both agreed that the Italian government and IOC "would remain in contact to evaluate how to confront the issue in the future."

Carini took on a more neutral tone Friday when discussing the fallout from Thursday's bout.

"All this controversy makes me sad," Carini told Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport. "I'm sorry for my opponent, too. If the IOC said she can fight, I respect that decision."

Carini stood by her decision to abandon the fight but lamented not shaking hands with Khelif after the match.

"It wasn't something I intended to do," Carini said. "Actually, I want to apologize to her and everyone else. I was angry because my Olympics had gone up in smoke."

The International Boxing Association, in a statement Friday, said it will award Carini the IBA prize money as if she were an Olympic champion. IBA president Umar Kremlev also said the organization would support Turdibekova, who lost to Lin on Friday. 

Athletes who win gold in the Olympic boxing tournament receive $50,000 from the IBA, with silver medalists awarded $25,000 and bronze winners $12,500. 

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.