After a fifteen-day intense debate over her eligibility to compete in the Olympics, boxer Imane Khelif has won the gold medal, defeating world champion Yang Liu from China by unanimous decision in the women’s 66kg category.
The 25-year-old athlete’s greatest career victory was sealed amid a celebratory atmosphere as Algerians filled the Court Philippe-Chatrier and stood by her side in her battle for the gold medal.
Khelif is Algeria’s first female boxing gold medallist and the first boxer to win gold since 1996.
“As for whether I qualified or not, whether I am a woman or not, I have made many statements in the media,” said Khelif after her victory. “I have all the qualifications to participate in this competition. I am a woman like any other woman. I was born a woman, I lived as a woman, I fought as a woman, there is no doubt about that. My critics, that’s what I call them, are enemies of my success. After the attacks I received, my victory is even more valuable.”
“My honour is untouchable now,” Khelif continued, “The attacks I received on social media were ugly and meaningless, and they affect the dignity of people, and I think that now the way people think has changed. As for the International Boxing Association (IBA), since 2018, I have been fighting under their umbrella. They know me very well, they know what I am capable of, they know how I have evolved over the years, but now they no longer recognise me. They hate me, and I don’t know why. I send them a single message: with this gold medal, my honour, my dignity, is above all.”
Her Instagram post
“From dreams to reality, the journey is gold. Proud to stand at the top for my country and the ones who believed. The fight never stops, only gets stronger,” Imane Khelif wrote on social media.
(information from protothema.gr)
