Olympic women’s boxer Imane Khelif, who triggered an international gender row by demolishing her opponent in 46 seconds yesterday, has spoken of her ‘bravery’ at overcoming a life of adversity to reach the top of her sport.
The ‘biologically male’ athlete told how she rose from selling bread on the streets of her Algerian village to become a sporting hero – after a coach turned her to the sport due to her ‘physical qualities’.
But even then, she faced prejudice as her conservative family and community viewed the sport as ‘only for men’.
The 25-year-old, one of two athletes thrown out of last year’s world championships in New Delhi after failing to meet gender eligibility criteria, is now eyeing up a dream gold medal after progressing to the quarter-finals with a win over Angela Carini.
But the triumph was marred by controversy, with her Italian opponent withdrawing in tears after just 46 seconds and telling her corner ‘it’s not fair.’
In an unearthed interview filmed ahead of the Games, Khelif opened up about bouncing back from her ban over elevated testosterone levels and declared: ‘I wanted to show the whole world what a brave woman Imane Khelif is.’
Her fight in Paris is set to go down as one of the most controversial in Olympic history and has thrown the Games into chaos amid a fierce backlash from the likes of JK Rowling, Olympian Sharron Davies and former Prime Minister Liz Truss.
Olympic bosses, however, quickly defended Khelif, slamming the ‘aggression’ and ‘discrimination’ from the public. Khelif shared the statement on social media and wrote: ‘Praise be to God. Divine justice.’
During the fight, Carini was hit twice, suffered a suspected broken nose and barely threw a punch before telling her corner: ‘It’s not fair.’ She then sank to her knees, beat the canvas in frustration and refused to shake Khelif’s hand.
Khelif (right) said that she always loved football, which her father also preferred to boxing, but it was her teacher at school who inspired her to go into fighting
During the unearthed Canal Algerie interview, which also featured photos of Khelif as a young girl, the Algerian also told how she was inspired to go into boxing because of the ‘physical qualities’ her coach at school saw in her.
When asked by the interviewer why she chose to go into a sport ‘often referred to as a men’s sport’, Khelif replied: ‘It was pure chance, I never imagined one day that I would become a boxer and that I would become world champion.
‘I have always loved football and I played it in my little village. My father always preferred football to boxing. But I was very good at sports in my school and my teacher encouraged me to become a boxer since I had good physical qualities and he was right.
Khelif said she ‘fell in love’ with boxing as soon as she stepped in the ring for the first time.
But the boxer described her childhood as ‘really difficult’, adding: ‘I come from a conservative region and family. Boxing was a sport dedicated only to men.’
She also spoke of having to travel between her village and the town where she did her training, adding: ‘These are obstacles that I encountered when I started.
