Monday, August 5, 2024 - The boxer at the centre of a gender row storm has given a bombshell interview for the first time since she beat up a female athlete in just 46 seconds.
In her first statement, Imane Khelife slammed bullying following her controversial win at the Paris Olympics.
The Algerian athlete slammed the scrutiny of her gender as "harmful to human dignity" during the interview in Arabic to SNTV.
She added that she and her opponent, Italian boxer, Angela Carini, have known wach other for a while because she (Khelife) trains in a camp in Italy.
She said: "I send a message to all the people of the world to uphold the Olympic principles and the Olympic Charter, to refrain from bullying all athletes, because this has effects, massive effects.
"It can destroy people, it can kill people's thoughts, spirit and mind. It can divide people. And because of that, I ask them to refrain from bullying."
The 25-year-old Khelif acknowledged the pressure and pain of enduring this ordeal while competing far from home in the most important event of her athletic career.
"I am in contact with my family two days a week. I hope that they weren't affected deeply. They are worried about me. God willing, this crisis will culminate in a gold medal, and that would be the best response," she said.
She expressed gratitude to the International Olympic Committee and its president, Thomas Bach, for standing resolutely behind her while the banned former governing body of Olympic boxing stoked a furor around her participation in Paris.
"I know that the Olympic Committee has done me justice, and I am happy with this remedy because it shows the truth," she said.
She also has seen massive support at her fights, drawing cheers when she enters the arena and crowds waving Algerian flags chanting her first name.
She will fight again Tuesday, August 6, in the women's 66-kilogram semifinals at Roland Garros.
Watch the interview below.
){kind=link}
0 Comments