Imane Khelif’s father has his say on the controversy surrounding his daughter

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif has unintentionally become one of the talking points of the Paris Olympics after false accusations of her being a man or a transgender person have flooded the popular discourse. All of these claims are factually untrue: Khelif is a woman who has competed in the category of women’s sports all her life.

Given the controversy, AFP (Associated Foreign Press) delved into Khelif’s life to learn first-hand about the Algerian boxer’s beginnings. They were able to speak to her father, Omar Khelif, who even showed Khelif’s identity papers and birth certificate to silence the online outrage that has been sparked by those on the right, keen to start a fuss over nothing.

‘I raised her to work hard and be brave’

“My daughter is a girl, she was raised as a girl. She is a strong girl, I raised her to work hard and be brave. She won her fight against Carini because she was stronger and the other one was weak,” said Omar Khelif.

“Imane is an example of an Algerian woman, she is one of Algeria’s heroines. God willing she will honour us with a gold medal and pose with the Algerian flag in Paris. That has been our goal from the beginning.”

Khelif made the headlines the world over following her win in the 66kg category against Italy’s Angela Carini, who dropped out after just 46 seconds into her round-of-16 bout.

It took just one accurate punch from the Algerian to land for Carini to make the journey over to her coach in the corner of the ring, where she dropped to her knees and raised her hand, admitting defeat. Since then, Carini has apologised for her actions, telling Gazetta dello Sport that “it wasn’t something I intended to do. Actually, I want to apologise to her and everyone else. I was angry because my Olympics had gone up in smoke.”