Hungarian Boxing Association awards Luca Hámori prize money equivalent to a bronze medal

On Saturday, Hungarian boxer Luca Hámori lost unanimously to Algeria’s Imane Khelif in the quarter-finals of the women’s 66 kg boxing category at the Paris Olympics. Despite the loss, Hámori will receive prize money as if she had won a bronze medal.

Luca Hámori receives a generous amount

The generous decision comes from the Hungarian Boxing Association, with board member Lajos Berkó announcing on Sunday that Hámori’s prize will be supplemented to match the bronze medal amount, Telex reports.

As a result, Luca Hámori will receive a total of HUF 31 million (EUR 77,750) for her performance, with the association contributing a significant portion, precisely HUF 16 million (EUR 40,000). The association did not explain why they decided to supplement Hámori’s prize money,

while Richárd Kovács, who also finished 5th, only received a special congratulatory message.

Luca Hámori’s opponent, Imane Khelif, has been a hot topic in Olympic discussions both in Hungary and internationally. On 1 August, Khelif’s Italian opponent, Angela Carini, surrendered after just 46 seconds, claiming she had never been hit so hard. Additionally, Khelif was excluded from last year’s World Championships due to high testosterone levels, prompting the Hungarian association to protest to the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Despite this, Hámori insisted on facing her.

Hámori’s unsportsmanlike conduct called out

The controversy escalated, with the Hungarian Olympic Committee (MOB) raising the issue to a higher level. Meanwhile, several online users began calling for Hámori to be penalised after she shared questionable and controversial content about Khelif in a personal video and Instagram story (calling the boxer transphobe names, a man, and even a “beast”), prompting people to call out Hámori’s unprofessional and unsportsmanlike conduct. Following the match, however, Hámori stated that there was nothing negative to say about her opponent and that the two days preceding the match were hard for everybody.

“I can’t say a single bad word about my opponent. The past few days have been difficult for everyone. I have respect for her, I have no negative thoughts towards her, and she is not to blame for this situation. We both came to fight, and this is how it turned out this time, but it could be different in the future. The situation did not ruin my Olympics at all,” Telex quoted the boxer as saying.

Luca Hámori lost unanimously to Algeria’s Imane Khelif in the quarter-finals of the Paris Olympics.

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