Imane Khelif's next opponent has been slammed by Olympic fans after posting a series of provocative messages on Instagram ahead of their fight.
Khelif will continue her pursuit of Olympic gold on Saturday against Hungary's Anna Luca Hamori after beating Italian fighter Angela Carini in the opening round of the women's welterweight competition.
Carini abandoned her bout against Khelif just 46 seconds into the contest on Thursday, prompting huge debate over whether the Algerian should be allowed to compete at the Games.
Khelif is one of two boxers along with Taiwan's Lin Yu-ting cleared to compete at the 2024 Olympics despite being disqualified from boxing's Women's World Championships last year for failing gender eligibility tests.
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Speaking after her fight with Khelif, Carini said she had pulled out of the contest due to being punched harder than she had ever been hit.
But the Italian later apologised for her actions and said that she supports the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) decision to allow Khelif to fight at the Games.
"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."
Discussing her decision to refuse to shake hands with Khelif after their fight, Carini added: "It wasn't something I intended to do.
"Actually, I want to apologise to her and everyone else. I was angry because my Olympics had gone up in smoke."
Hungarian fighter Hamori, who beat Australia's Marissa Williamson to set up a quarter-final clash with Khelif, said she is "not scared" of facing the Algerian.
She controversially told media: "I'm not scared. I don't care about the press story and social media. If she or he is a man, it will be a bigger victory for me if I win."
Hamori caused further controversy on Friday by posting a series of provocative messages on Instagram.
She reposted a number of derogatory comments made by her fans about Khelif to her story, before republishing an image of a woman facing off against a muscular figure resembling the devil in a boxing ring.
Hamori has received a huge backlash for her social media activity, with boxing fans describing it as both "disgusting" and "sad".
"This is so gross. Sad. Awful. I just hope Khelif's team are supporting her the way she needs to be supported," one X user posted.
Another user shared the devil image that Hamori had republished, commenting: "Imane Khelif’s next opponent, the Hungarian Luca Hamori, posted this on her IG story... so vile and disgusting."
"This is awful behaviour! Luca Hamori should be removed," added another angry fan.
While a fourth said: "Luca Hamori's hateful posts about Imane Khelif go against the Athletes' Declaration. This needs to be addressed to maintain sportsmanship and respect."
Khelif and Lin were disqualified from last year's World Championships in New Delhi after failing to meet the International Boxing Association's (IBA) eligibility criteria, with the BBC reporting that the Algerian failed a testosterone level test.
While the IBA said in a statement that the pair had been disqualified "to uphold the level of fairness and utmost integrity of the competition", the body also claimed that they "did not undergo a testosterone examination but were subject to a separate and recognised test, whereby the specifics remain confidential".
"This test conclusively indicated that both athletes did not meet the required necessary eligibility criteria and were found to have competitive advantages over other female competitors," the body added.
IBA president Umar Kremlev told Russian news agency TASS at the time that both Khelif and Lin had "XY chromosomes", according to a report from Reuters.
However, the Russian-led IBA has faced questions about its governance of boxing and in June of last year was stripped of its status as the sport's world governing body by the IOC.
Boxing at the 2024 Olympics is instead being overseen by another body, the Paris Boxing Unit (PBU), which approved both Khelif and Lin to take part in the Games.
The IOC issued a statement on Thursday, affirming Khelif and Lin's eligibility to take part in the 2024 Games in Paris without specifically naming the pair.
"Every person has the right to practise sport without discrimination," the statement read.
"All athletes participating in the boxing tournament of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 comply with the competition's eligibility and entry regulations, as well as all applicable medical regulations set by the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit (PBU)."
It remains to be seen whether the PBU or IOC will take action against Hamori for her controversial activity on social media.
Topics: Boxing, Olympics, Fan Reactions
Rory O'Callaghan