“The Italian couldn’t beat my girl because…”: the father of Algerian boxer Imane Khelif speaks out amid controversy at the Olympics

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif finds herself in the middle of a major gender controversy at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Khelif, who was disqualified from last year’s world championships after failing gender eligibility tests, has been approved by the International Olympic Committee (IOC ) to compete at the current 2024 Paris Olympics. Her opening fight with Italian opponent Angela Carini, which lasted just 46 seconds, put her gender controversy in the spotlight once again. The issue became so big that even Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni turned to X to condemn the decision to allow Khelif to compete in the Paris Games. (Medal count from the Paris Olympic Games)

Amid the ongoing controversy, Imane’s father, Omar Khelif, defended his daughter, claiming that she is a girl.

“My daughter is a girl. She was raised as a girl. She is a strong girl. I raised her to be hardworking and courageous. She has a strong desire to work and train,” said Omar Khelif. Sky News.

When talking about the fight between Imane and Angela that lasted just 46 seconds, Omar said: “The Italian opponent she faced couldn’t defeat my daughter because she was stronger and softer.”

The issue was complicated by boxing’s governance structure – the IOC took control of program management from the International Boxing Association (IBA) due to concerns about the way the body operated the sport.

Taiwanese fighter Lin Yu-ting’s participation in the Paris Olympics is also questioned, as she was also disqualified by the IBA during the last Women’s Boxing Championship last year.

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach condemned the social media reaction to Khelif and Lin, with some, including former US President Donald Trump, framing the issue as men fighting women.

“Everyone in our world apparently feels obliged to say everything about everything without really considering the sometimes very complex circumstances,” said the German.

Bach said anyone questioning the two boxers should “propose a new scientifically based definition of who is a woman and how someone who was born, raised, competed and has a passport as a woman cannot be considered a woman.”

(With AFP inputs)