PARIS: Imane Khelif of Algeria triumphed over Yang Liu of the People’s Republic of China to secure the gold medal in women’s boxing (66kg) at the Paris Olympic Games 2024 on Friday, held at Stade Roland-Garros, according to Olympics.com.
Khelif, who previously competed at Tokyo 2020 as the first female boxer to represent Algeria at the Olympics, has since claimed gold medals at the 2022 Mediterranean Games and the 2023 Arab Games. The 25-year-old dominated the Paris 2024 final, winning by a unanimous decision with a score of 5-0.
“I’m very happy. For eight years, this has been my dream, and now I’m the Olympic champion and gold medalist”, Khelif expressed, as quoted by Olympics.com.
Yang Liu, who also participated in Tokyo 2020 and won gold at the 2023 World Championships in the same weight class, reflected on her performance: “I tried my best, but my opponent was much better. She is an excellent fighter and very strong”, Yang said.
Three days earlier, on August 6, Janjaem Suwannapheng of Thailand and Chen Nien Chin of the People’s Republic of China each secured bronze medals.
Women’s 66 kg Podium Winners:
Gold: Imane Khelif, Algeria
Silver: Yang Liu, People’s Republic of China
Bronze: Chen Nien Chin, People’s Republic of China
Bronze: Janjaem Suwannapheng, Thailand
(ANI)