Imane Khelif calls for an end to ‘bullying’, aims for gold at Paris Olympics amid gender row | Boxing News

Imane Khelif has called for an end to “bullying” after the Algerian boxer secured an Olympic medal despite an ongoing gender dispute.

Khelif advanced to the women’s 66kg semifinals after beating Hungary’s Anna Luca Hamori, securing Algeria’s first boxing medal since 2000 and its first in women’s boxing.

She faces Thailand’s Janjaem Suwannapheng in the semifinals on Tuesday, but has been in the spotlight since her opening bout following a dispute over her eligibility that has made headlines and sparked online abuse.

Khelif and Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting are both cleared to compete in the Olympics after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) adopted different criteria from the International Boxing Association (IBA), which disqualified them both from last year’s world championships due to the results of an unspecified fitness test.

“I send a message to all the people in the world to support the Olympic principles and the Olympic Charter, and to refrain from bullying all athletes, because this has effects, enormous effects,” Khelif said. SNTV in Arabic.

“It can destroy people, it can kill people’s thoughts, spirit and mind. It can divide people. And for that reason, I ask them to refrain from bullying.

“I am in touch with my family two days a week. I hope they have not been deeply affected. They are worried about me. God willing, this crisis will culminate in a gold medal, and that would be the best answer.”

He expressed gratitude to the International Olympic Committee and its president, Thomas Bach, for their continued support.

“I know that the Olympic Committee has done me justice and I am happy with this sentence because it shows the truth,” he said.

Taiwanese Lin, 28, will face Turkey’s Esra Yildiz in the semifinals after her unanimous decision victory over Bulgaria’s Svetlana Kamenova Staneva in the 57kg category.

Before the scorecards were read, Staneva made a double XX gesture and pointed to herself. The female chromosome is XX. Staneva then appeared to walk past Lin, but after the referee announced the decision and raised Lin’s hand as the winner, Staneva walked over and sat on the rope on her opponent’s side and opened the rope to let Lin out.

Lin said: “I know that all Taiwanese people support me and cheer me on, and I will carry this energy until the end. Even though I won this match, it doesn’t mean I can relax, I still have to work hard.”

In a statement released after the meeting in support of Lin, the Taiwan Olympic Committee said it was “already clear” that the boxer was eligible for the Paris Olympics under IOC rules.

“The delegation stands firmly behind the athlete with full support and strongly condemns the malicious online abuse and personal attacks, calling for an immediate cessation of such behavior,” it said.

Adams: ‘Totally absurd’ misinformation must stop

IOC spokesman Mark Adams called for an end to the spread of misinformation on social media, which has led to both athletes facing online abuse.

“We believe these women have been targeted, particularly on social media, they’ve been subjected to death threats, we feel strongly about reminding people that this is absolutely not a transgender issue,” Adams said. Vscek News.

“These women were born female, were registered as female, have female passports, have competed in senior competitions for the last six or seven years, and have won and lost matches as women.

“It is important for us to support them, especially at this time: if someone were to put themselves in the shoes of those two athletes who are being ridiculed and attacked with death threats, simply because of a test carried out by a discredited federation that wanted to change the results of a match, this would not be acceptable.

“That’s why we get angry. Of course we want fair fights, but we also want people to have the right to compete fairly and without harassment.”

Adams reiterated the IOC’s belief that the IBA, which disqualified the two fighters from the 2023 World Championships, cannot be trusted.

“They have no authority because there are governance problems, financial problems,” he said. “Just look for the president of this organization, Mr. [Umar] Kremlev [IBA president]interesting name and interesting links, just look at the videos he posts, which are explosive and aggressive, to understand why you shouldn’t trust or listen to him.

“We suspended them and eventually banned them because they are not good for the sport, they are not there for the athletes and we need someone to encourage other people, we need a new international federation.”

Adams called for “sensible conversations about a difficult topic” to prevent abuse of athletes’ rights and further humiliation caused by misinformation.

He says the IOC provided support to both athletes during the eligibility phase.

“Our conservation teams have been in contact with both athletes, it’s very tough,” he explained. “Imagine for the Algerian boxer, who comes from a more conservative society and has to deal with this global wave of people who don’t know the facts about something and say it’s a man fighting a woman.

“This is complete nonsense and it must be stopped, we must discuss the issues as adults. It is not an easy question, there is no clear cut answer.

“As the IOC President said yesterday, if someone could find a medical consensus on what is a man and what is a woman, we would be happy to collaborate with him.

“Until then we’ll have conflicting ideas, we’ll have to work with what we have, unless everyone wants to go back to sex testing.”

“I am a woman” – Khelif emotional as boxers embrace

“There was real respect between the boxers,” he said Vscek News reporter Geraint Hughes. “Before the fight, between each round and at the end, they touched gloves.

“Khelif was very emotional as she left the ring. She went into an area to talk to reporters – she only spoke to one, as I understand it, and then she shouted at another, ‘I’m a woman.'”

Speaking afterwards, Hamori said: “I think it was a good fight. I’m so proud of myself and I’m so grateful to be here. This was a very nice competition for me, it was my childhood dream. I’m so happy.

“I wish good luck to my opponents and everyone else in the final and I am very grateful to my coaches, the Hungarian team, my family and everyone who supported me, so thank you all.”

Khelif’s father speaks as IOC president faces press

Khelif’s father defended his daughter before her latest victory, saying News from the sky: “My daughter is a girl. She was raised as a girl. She is a strong girl. I raised her to be a hard worker and brave. She has a strong will to work and train.”

IOC President Thomas Bach insisted on Saturday that “there was never any doubt” that Khelif and Yu-ting are women.

“Let’s be clear, this is women’s boxing,” Bach said. “We have two boxers who were born women, raised women, have women’s passports, and have competed for many years as women.”