Paris Olympics: Khelif’s father defends daughter amid gender controversy

The father of Algerian boxer Imane Khelif has defended his daughter, asserting that the boxer was born and raised as a girl amid ongoing gender controversy at the ongoing Paris 2024 Olympics.

Khelif and Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting were allowed to participate in the Olympics, despite being disqualified from the 2023 World Championships by the International Boxing Association (IBA) due to unspecified eligibility test results. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has adopted different criteria, allowing their participation at the Paris Olympic Games.

Khelif won her round-of-16 clash against Italy’s Angela Carini in the women’s 66kg category in just 46 seconds on Thursday, after the Italian withdrew, citing health concerns. This victory sparked a row over Khelif’s eligibility.

“My child is a girl. She was raised as a girl. She’s a strong girl. I raised her to be hard-working and brave. She has a strong will to work and to train,” said Imane’s father, Omar Khelif, to Sky News. “The Italian opponent she faced was unable to defeat my daughter because my daughter was stronger and she was softer.”

IOC President Thomas Bach also affirmed on Saturday that there was “never any doubt” that Khelif and Yu-ting are women. “Let’s be very clear, we are talking about women’s boxing,” Bach said. “We have two boxers who were born as women, who have been raised as women, who have passports as women, and who have competed for many years as women. This is the clear definition of a woman. There was never any doubt about them being women.”

Bach criticised the ongoing controversy, stating, “What we see now is that some want to own the definition of who is a woman. I can only invite them to come up with a scientifically-based, new definition of who is a woman and how can someone being born, raised, competed, and having a passport as a woman not be considered a woman. If they come up with something, we are ready to listen, we are ready to look into it, but we will not take part in a sometimes politically-motivated cultural war. Allow me to say that what is going on in this context on social media with all this hate speech, aggression, and abuse fueled by this agenda is totally unacceptable.”

Bach emphasized that the controversy is “not a transgender issue.” He added, “The IOC framework, which is scientifically based, applies to all federations. This is about a woman taking part in a woman’s competition. I would only like to ask everybody to respect these women, respect them as women, and respect them as human beings.”

Carini apologized for her post-fight reaction and told the Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, “All this controversy makes me sad. I’m sorry for my opponent, too. If the IOC said she can fight, I respect that decision.”

Khelif is set to face Hungary’s Anna Luca Hamori in the 66kg quarter-finals on Saturday. However, the Hungarian Boxing Federation has asked the country’s Olympic Committee (MOB) and the IOC to object to Khelif’s participation.

A statement from the federation said, “The MOB is also looking after the interests of the Hungarian athlete and is therefore continuously examining the means it can use to protect Hamori’s rights to fair competition under the rules in force. The MOB president has initiated immediate consultations with the IOC director of sport to clarify the situation.”