Imane Khelif issues defiant message after winning historic women’s boxing gold

Roared on by thousands of Algerians at Roland Garros on Friday, Khelif eased to a unanimous decision win against China’s Yang Liu to become the first Algerian female Olympic boxing gold medallist.

It comes after a fortnight which has seen the 25-year-old’s participation in the women’s 66kg tournament become the subject of intense scrutiny after she was disqualified from last year’s Women’s World Championships for allegedly failing International Boxing Association (IBA) gender eligibility rules.

The International Olympic Committee, which has barred the IBA from running boxing at the Olympics over financial and corruption concerns, allowed Khelif to compete but the boxer has still received intense scrutiny and online hate, in particular after her 46-second stoppage win against Italy’s Italy’s Angela Carini.

After collecting her medal, an emotional Khelief issued a defiant message, insisting the constant scrutiny over the last fortnight had only made her eventual triumph even sweeter.

Despite alleging that Khelif and another boxer – Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting – had undergone genetic testing which showed they were men, the IBA and its president Umar Kremlev are yet to release any evidence to back up the claims.

And when asked by reporters if she had a message for the governing body, Khelif insisted she had already sent them a simple but powerful image.

‘Since 2018 I’ve been boxing under the umbrella of the IBA. They know me very well and what I’m capable of,’ she said.

‘But now they are not recognised anymore and they hate me, and I don’t know why. I sent them a single message with this gold medal.’

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