Olympic boxer Imane Khelif breaks silence amid gender scrutiny

Algerian Olympic boxer Imane Khelif has been the target of swirling gender scrutiny since her August 1 bout—now the infamous 46-second match-up—against her Italian opponent Angela Carini.
Khelif broke her silence on Sunday night after facing a turbulent and hateful wave of social media outrage over gender misconceptions, saying it “harms human dignity.” Calling to end the contentious trend of bullying athletes, she addressed the issue in an interview with The Associated Press’ sports video partner SNTV.
“I send a message to all the people of the world to uphold the Olympic principles and the Olympic Charter, to refrain from bullying all athletes, because this has effects, massive effects,” the 25-year-old Algerian boxer said in Arabic.
“It can destroy people, it can kill people’s thoughts, spirit and mind. It can divide people. And because of that, I ask them to refrain from bullying.”
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Further acknowledging the pressure the ongoing ordeal had put on her while competing at the illustrious international sports event, she also highlighted the possibly anxiety-ridden state of her family. “I am in contact with my family two days a week. I hope that they weren’t affected deeply,” Khelif said. “They are worried about me. God willing, this crisis will culminate in a gold medal, and that would be the best response.”
The controversial discourse especially entangles her and fellow boxer Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan at this year’s Olympic Games in Paris following both their medal-winning triumphs were put under the microscope, launching vitriol based on unsubstantiated misconceptions about their gender identities.
The issue particularly blew out of proportion with the International Boxing Association joining the discourse. Permanently banned from the Olympics, the IBA claimed that Khelif and Lin had failed unspecified tests for the women’s championship last year, resulting in disqualification.
On the contrary, the International Olympic Committee has since firmly backed both players and slammed the IBA and the rising trend of misidentifying these women athletes as transgender or “biological males.”
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Khelif had previously turned away from talking about the said tests conducted by the IBA, expressing her reluctance to discuss the issue. Conversely, she thanked the IOC and President Thomas Back for having her back. “I know that the Olympic Committee has done me justice, and I am happy with this remedy because it shows the truth,” she said.
Foregrounding that such grand-scale discussion won’t deter her from her ultimate goal of clinching the first Olympic gold medal in women’s boxing for her country, Khelif said: “I don’t care about anyone’s opinion.”
“I came here for a medal, and to compete for a medal. I will certainly be competing to improve (and) be better, and God willing, I will improve, like every other athlete,” she added a day after defeating Hungary’s Anna Luca Hamori.
Also, addressing the social media commotion, she admitted she doesn’t follow such discussions. “There is a mental health team that doesn’t let us follow social media, especially in the Olympic Games, whether me or other athletes. I’m here to compete and get a good result.”
The divisive debate around Khelif’s name was triggered after Angela Carinia of Italy abandoned their match merely 46 seconds after it began, following a hit in the face. She later regretted her decision, saying she wanted to apologise to Khelif.