Luca Hámori won from Algerian Imane Khelif with a point.
Luca Hámori lost to Imane Helif by unanimous decision in the Olympic quarter-finals in the women's boxers' 66-kilogram competition, finishing in fifth place in Paris.
In the last few days, the entire world press picked up the story of Imane Helif, after the Algerian advanced to the round of 16, Angela Carini gave up the match after 46 seconds after two harder blows, and then burst into tears.
The Italian did not shake hands with his opponent, but later told La Gazzetta dello Sport that he regretted his action and did not want to be disrespectful to Helif, he did so not as a protest. The reason why so many people are riding on the story is because Helife was disqualified from the World Championship last year by the International Amateur Boxing Association (IBA) after a test showed that he also has a Y-chromosome and a higher testosterone level.
He can participate in the Olympics because, due to the tension between the IBA and the IOC, not the boxing federation, but the special committee invited by the International Olympic Committee, has been organizing the tournament at the five-ring games since Tokyo.
There should be a person on his feet who sees clearly in the matter. It is certain that Helif has competed among women before, she lost in the quarter-finals in Tokyo three years ago, but previously she also participated in the Bocskai István Memorial Competition in Debrecen.
Mark Adams, the IOC spokesman, said that Helif was born as a woman, was registered as a woman, lived her life as a woman, has been boxing as a woman and is listed as a woman in all her documents.
Full house at the clash
The quarter-final clash between Luca Hámori and Imane Helif in the North Paris Arena was surrounded by great interest. Already several hours before the start, a multitude of TV crews appeared around the hall, and almost every television station asked the fans what they thought about the biggest hysteria of the last few days.
More than an hour before the match, the Algerian fans huddled together in the stands, a hard core formed, and they tried to invite all the spectators supporting Helif to a place with loud cheering. The wrestling then started at half past six in the afternoon, the audience greeted Helif with a big ovation, and the Hungarian girl was pretty much booed off...
However, the 23-year-old competitor from Kőszegi already showed that he was very focused, focusing only on the ring. Two days ago, he said that he doesn't care if his opponent is a woman or a man, he wants to win.
He started well in the first round, he didn't rush, he defended carefully, he landed some nice punches, but he also got slapped, and in the end all five judges gave the first round to the Algerians.
In the second round, Hámori tried to switch on and box faster. At the beginning, he attacked more and dominated, but Helif moved routinely, and this process was also delayed by the scoring judges.
Aware of his advantage in the third round, Helif did not take any risks, and Hámori was unable to knock out his opponent, who took this round as well, won the match with a unanimous score and reached the semi-finals.
Luca Hámori was the first female Hungarian boxer to finish fifth at the Olympics.
Featured Image: Anna Luca Hámori (blue) fights Algeria's Imane Khelif in the women's boxing 66kg quarter-final at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics at the Arena Nord in Paris on August 3, 2024. Luca Hámori finished in fifth place after losing to Iman Helif with a unanimous score. MTI/Zsolt Czeglédi
