ANNA Luca Hamori is the Hungarian boxer ready to take on her highly debated opponent in the Olympic boxing quarter-final.
The boxer says she is not intimidated about facing her next competitor: Imane Khelif.
Who is Imane Khelif’s opponent Anna Luca Hamori?
Anna was born on March 12, 2001, in Szombathely, Hungary, which is the oldest city in the country.
The 23-year-old now lives in Koszeg, Hungary.
She is dating a fellow Hungarian boxer, named Kreko Istvan.
The heavyweight competed at the 2018 Youth Olympics, but Paris 2024 is her first appearance at the Olympic Games.
What is Anna Luca Hamori’s track record in boxing?
Anna competed in the 60kg category at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games, where she lost 5-0 in the preliminary round.
After that, she went on to win big at the European U-22 Championships, where she secured a silver medal in the 66kg category.
However, she was eliminated in the 2023 World Championships.
At the 2024 Olympic Games, Anna defeated Ireland’s Grainne Walsh 4-1 and decisively beat Australia’s Marissa Williamson 5-0.
Anna’s next opponent, Imane, forced her last competitor, Angela Carini, to quit within 46 seconds of their match.
Imane’s win against Angela has sparked a global debate around gender in sports.
Last year Imane was banned by the International Boxing Association (IBA) from competing in the Women’s Boxing World Championships after she did not meet gender eligibility criteria.
According to the IBA, the boxer was disqualified for failing a testosterone level test.
However, the IOC has said that the Russian-led IBA is no longer a recognised body and has defended Imane’s right to compete.
The committee has also told the press that all boxers in Paris “comply with the competition’s eligibility and entry regulations”.
What has Anna Luca Hamori said about Imane Khelif?
Anna has said that she is not intimidated by facing Imane in the quarter-final.
She has chosen not to engage with the online controversy.
Anna told reporters: “I’m not scared. I don’t care about the press story and social media.
“I don’t want to care about the comments or the story or the news.
“I just want to stay focused on myself.
“I did it before my last two fights, so I think this is the key, and we will see.”
Angela Carini has also weighed in, saying that she respects the IOC’s decision to let Imane compete in the Olympics.
She told Gazzetta dello Sport: “All this controversy makes me sad.
“I’m sorry for my opponent, too.
“If the IOC said she can fight, I respect that decision.”
The two are set to box in the quarter-finals of the 66kg division on Saturday, August 3 at 4.22pm BST.
Olympics gender controversy
THE International Olympic Committee (IOC) stirred up a huge controversy by clearing two women to box who had previously failed a gender test.
Algeria’s Imane Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting were disqualified at the Women’s World Championships in New Delhi, India, in March 2023.
Lin Yu-ting was stripped of a bronze medal after failing a gender eligibility test.
Khelif was disqualified in New Delhi for failing a testosterone level test.
Officials found tests showed they had ‘XY chromosomes’ — which indicates a person is biologically male.
Rare ‘intersex’ medical conditions, medically known as differences in sexual development (DSDs), can also mean outwardly female individuals can have ‘male’ chromosomes, or vice versa.
The Russia-led International Boxing Association organised that event but is no longer recognised by the IOC.
IOC spokesman Mark Adams said: “These athletes have competed many times before for many years, they haven’t just suddenly arrived – they competed in Tokyo.
“The federation needs to make the rules to make sure that there is fairness but at the same time there is the ability for everyone to take part that wants to. That is a difficult balance.
“In the end the experts for each sport are the people who work in that. If there is a big advantage that clearly is not acceptable, but that needs to be a decision made at that level.”
Both Khelif and Lin competed at the delayed Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021. Lin is a two-time winner at the Asian Women Amateur Boxing Championships.
The IOC said all boxers in Paris “comply with the competition’s eligibility and entry regulations”.
The controversy follows the famous case of Caster Semenya.
South African middle-distance runner Semenya has a condition which means her body naturally produces higher levels of testosterone than normal for women.
She won gold in the 800m at London 2012 and Rio in 2016 but was unable to compete at Tokyo in 2021 after World Athletics brought in new rules independently of the IOC at the time.
