PARIS – Olympic boxer Imane Khelif said the wave of hateful scrutiny she has faced due to misconceptions about her gender “damages human dignity” and called for an end to bullying against athletes after being greatly affected by the international backlash against her .
The Algerian athlete spoke about her tumultuous Olympic experience on Sunday night in an interview with SNTV, the Associated Press’ sports video partner.
“I send a message to all people in the world to defend the Olympic principles and the Olympic Charter, to refrain from intimidating all athletes, because this has effects, enormous effects,” Khelif said in Arabic. “It can destroy people, it can kill people’s thoughts, spirit and mind. This can divide people. And because of that, I ask you to refrain from bullying.”
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The victories of Khelif and fellow boxer Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan in the Paris ring became one of the biggest stories of the Paris Games. Both women won their first Olympic medals despite facing online abuse based on unfounded allegations about their gender, leading to a wider divide over changing attitudes towards gender identity and sports regulations. .
Khelif, 25, acknowledged the pressure and pain of enduring this ordeal while competing far from home in the most important event of his athletic career.
“I am in contact with my family two days a week. I hope they were not deeply affected,” she said. “They are worried about me. God willing, this crisis will culminate in a gold medal, and that would be the best response.”
The criticism stems from allegations by the International Boxing Association, which has been permanently banned from the Olympics, that both Khelif and Lin failed unspecified eligibility tests for women’s competition at last year’s world championships.
Khelif refused to answer when asked whether she had undergone tests other than drug tests, saying she did not want to talk about it.
She expressed gratitude to the International Olympic Committee and its president, Thomas Bach, for resolutely supporting her as the banned former Olympic boxing governing body stirred up a furor over her participation in Paris.
“I know that the Olympic Committee gave me justice and I am happy with this solution because it shows the truth,” she said.
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She has also received great support in her fights, attracting applause when she enters the arena and crowds waving Algerian flags chanting her first name. She will fight again on Tuesday in the women’s 66 kilogram semi-finals at Roland Garros.
Khelif has repeatedly made clear that she will not allow talk or accusations to stop her from trying to claim Algeria’s first Olympic gold medal in women’s boxing.
“I don’t care about anyone’s opinion,” Khelif said the day after defeating Anna Luca Hamori of Hungary. “I came here for a medal and to compete for a medal. I will definitely be competing to improve (and) be better, and God willing, I will improve, like any other athlete.”
Although she is aware of the worldwide discussion about her, Khelif said she has been somewhat sidelined.
“Honestly, I don’t follow social media,” she said. “There is a mental health team that doesn’t let us follow social media, especially during the Olympic Games, whether it’s me or other athletes. I’m here to compete and get a good result.”
Khelif began her Olympic run last Thursday with a victory over Angela Carini of Italy, who abandoned the fight after just 46 seconds. Carini later said that she regretted her decision and wanted to apologize to Khelif.
This unusual ending elevated the conversation around Khelif, drawing comments from people like former US President Donald Trump, “Harry Potter” writer JK Rowling and others falsely claiming that Khelif was male or transgender.
See more information: Taiwan turns on JK Rowling for sparking gender controversy in Olympic boxing
The IOC has repeatedly declared that she and Lin were qualified to participate in the Olympic Games and denounced the opaque testing standards and opaque governance of the IBA, which was banned entirely from the Olympic Games last year in an unprecedented punishment for a governing body.
Khelif clearly felt the weight of global scrutiny on her, and her victory over Hamori on Saturday felt cathartic. After the referee raised Khelif’s hand in victory, she walked to the center of the ring, waved to the fans, knelt down and slammed her palm on the canvas, her smile turning into tears.
“I couldn’t control my nerves,” Khelif said in the interview. “Because after the media frenzy and after the victory, there was a mixture of joy and at the same time I was very emotional, because honestly it was not an easy thing to go through. It was something that hurts human dignity.”
She competed in IBA events for several years without issue until she was abruptly suspended from last year’s world championships. The Russian-dominated body – which has faced years of clashes with the IOC – has refused to provide any information about the tests.
The Algerian national boxing federation is still a member of the IBA.
Khelif was born in rural northwest Algeria and grew up playing football until he fell in love with boxing. Overcoming her father’s initial objections, she traveled 10 kilometers (about 6 miles) by bus to train for fights in a neighboring town.
After reaching the sport’s highest level in her late teens, she struggled early in her career before reaching the elite level. Khelif has been a solid, if unspectacular, international competitor for six years, and she lost to eventual gold medalist Kellie Harrington of Ireland at the Tokyo Olympics.
Khelif’s next fight in Paris is against Janjaem Suwannapheng of Thailand. If Khelif wins again, she will fight for the gold medal on Friday.
“Yes, this issue involves the dignity and honor of every woman,” she told an Algerian broadcaster in brief comments on Sunday after defeating Hamori. “The Arab population has known me for years and saw me box in the IBA who harmed me (and) treated me unfairly, but I have God on my side.”
—Habbari is a video journalist at SNTV. SNTV video journalist Tarek Boussaha and AP video journalist Lujain Jo contributed from Paris.
This story originally appeared on Time.com read the full story
