Algerian Olympic boxer Imane Khelif “declined to answer” a question about testing as the fighter decried the bullying over controversy about a disqualification from a past tournament.
Khelif spoke to SNTV, a sports video partner with The Associated Press, on Monday. As the champion boxer talked about the firestorm over the last week, The Associated Press reported that they asked Khelif “whether she had undergone tests other than doping tests.”
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Imane Khelif, left, competes against Anna Luca Hamori during the Olympic Games at the North Paris Arena, in Villepinte, France, on Aug. 3, 2024. (Mehmet Murat Onel/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The boxer declined to answer, reportedly saying “she didn’t want to talk about it.”
The failed gender tests while at the 2023 International Boxing Association Women’s World Championships have been the source of controversy with Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting.
Because of it, Khelif implored fans to stop the bullying.
“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,” Khelif told SNTV. “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.”
Khelif declared after a win in the quarterfinals, “I am a woman,” and is guaranteed at least a bronze medal.
Imane Khelif during the women’s 66kg quarter-final boxing match at Olympic Games in France on Aug. 3, 2024. (Mehmet Murat Onel/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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“I am in contact with my family two days a week. I hope that they weren’t affected deeply,” Khelif said. “They are worried about me. God willing, this crisis will culminate in a gold medal, and that would be the best response.”
The IOC has defended Khelif at every turn. On Sunday, the IOC slammed the gender tests the IBA apparently used to determine if the Algerian Olympian had “XY chromosomes” and held a competitive advantage over other female fighters.
“There’s a whole range of reasons why we won’t deal with this,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams said. “Partly confidentiality. Partly medical issues. Partly that there was no basis for the test in the first place. And partly data sharing of this is also highly against the rules, international rules.
“The whole process is flawed. From the conception of the test, to how the test was shared with us, to how the tests have become public, is so flawed that it’s impossible to engage with it.”
A photo of Imane Khelif is projected on a screen in Paris on Aug. 3, 2024 in Paris. (Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
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Khelif is set to fight again Wednesday against Thailand’s Janjaem Suwannapheng.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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