Imane Khelif

Some Lesser Known Facts About Imane Khelif

• Imane was born and raised in a Muslim family in Tiaret village in western Algeria.

  

• Khelif used to play football in her village when she was 16.

• Khalif’s father was against her taking up boxing as a profession.

• In an interview, she revealed that her interest in boxing arose in childhood as she often indulged in a fistfight with the boys from her village. She said the boys used to fight with her as they felt intimidated by her stature.

• Khelif used to travel 10 kilometres by bus every week for boxing training. Being unable to ask for money from her father, she used to sell scrap metal for recycling and her mother sold couscous, a North African dish, to pay bus fare for her travelling.

• Khelif was 19 years old when she made her boxing debut.

• Khelif is a cisgender woman.

• Khelif represented Algeria in the women’s lightweight event at the 2020 Summer Olympics, where Ireland’s Kellie Harrington defeated her in the quarterfinals.

  

• In March 2023, Khelif was disqualified from the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships final match for failing to meet eligibility criteria. First, the Algerian Olympic Committee stated that she was disqualified due to medical reasons. Later it was revealed that the disqualification was due to high levels of testosterone in her body.

• Imane was appointed as the UNICEF ambassador to Algeria in 2024.

• Khelif was allowed to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics by the IOC’s Paris 2024 Boxing Unit after she cleared all the necessary eligibility and medical regulations for the event. The IOC also verified her documents and stated that she is a woman.

• Khelif’s fight with Angela Carini in the second round of the women’s 66 kg event ended in just 46 seconds after Angela withdrew from the match citing pain in her nose.

  

• Khelif received intense criticism online on social media after her match ended with Angela Carini. People said that Khelif is transgender and that injustice has been done to Angela Carini.