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Algerian boxer Imane Khelif broke her silence following her controversial opening win in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Khelif posted on Instagram her victorious photo with the caption: “Elhamdolilah (Praise be to Allah) 🤲☝️first Victory.”
Khelif advanced to the quarterfinals after Italy’s Angela Carini quit 46 seconds into the match, yelling, “This is unjust!” as she removed her helmet, according to The Toronto Sun.
Carini pointed to Khelif’s powerful punches as the reason she quit.
“I couldn’t carry on,” Carini said after the match, per Daily Mail. I have a big pain in my nose and I said, ‘Stop’. It’s better to avoid keeping going. My nose started dripping from the first hit.
“It could be the match of my life but, in that moment, I had to safeguard my life, too.”
She added: “I’m used to suffering. I’ve never taken a punch like that, it’s impossible to continue. I’m nobody to say it’s illegal.”
Khelif declined to comment on the raging debate about her gender and instead focused on her victory and goal of winning an Olympic medal for Algeria.
“God willing, this was the first victory. God is willing me to the golden one,” Khelif said, per Daily Mail. “Difficult for a first fight. Insh’allah (if Allah wills it) for the second fight. I am very prepared because it’s been eight years of preparation. It’s my second Olympic Games after fifth place at Tokyo. I need an Olympic medal here in Paris.”
IBA Claims XY Chromosomes Found in Imane Khelif
Questions about Khelif’s gender started when she and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-Ting were disqualified 2023 Boxing World Championships, governed by the International Boxing Association, for failing a gender eligibility test in which details were not disclosed.
However, IBA President Umar Kremlev was quoted by the Russian news agency, TASS, in 2023, revealing that Khelif and Yu-Ting had XY chromosomes, which are typically found in males.
“Based on DNA tests, we identified a number of athletes who tried to trick their colleagues into posing as women. According to the results of the tests, it was proved that they have XY chromosomes. Such athletes were excluded from competition,” Kremlev said.
IOC Slams IBA’s Arbitrary Decision
The International Olympic Committee, which no longer recognizes the IBA for separate issues of finances and widespread corruption, defended the two disqualified boxers.
“Towards the end of the IBA World Championships in 2023, they were suddenly disqualified without any due process,” the IOC said, via The Independent. “According to the IBA minutes available on their website, this decision was initially taken solely by the IBA Secretary General and CEO.”
The IOC blamed the IBA’s decision to disqualify both Khelif and Yu-Ting for all this brouhaha.
“The current aggression against these two athletes is based entirely on this arbitrary decision, which was taken without any proper procedure, especially considering that these athletes had been competing in top-level competition for many years,” the statement read.
“The IOC is saddened by the abuse that the two athletes are currently receiving,” it added. “Every person has the right to practice sport without discrimination.”
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