Imane Khelif calls for end to 'bullying' and targets gold medal at Paris Olympics amid eligibility row News

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Imane Khelif calls for end to 'bullying' and targets gold medal at Paris Olympics amid eligibility row

By Daily Sports Nigeria on August 5, 2024

Imane Khelif has called for an end to "bullying" after the Algerian boxer guaranteed herself an Olympic medal amid an ongoing eligibility row.

Khelif is through to the women's 66kg semis after beating Hungary's Anna Luca Hamori, securing Algeria's first boxing medal since 2000 and their first in women's boxing.

She faces Thailand's Janjaem Suwannapheng in the semi-finals on Tuesday, but has been in the spotlight since her opening bout due to an eligibility row that has dominated headlines and sparked online abuse.

Khelif and Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting are both allowed to take part in the Olympics, with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) adopting different criteria to the International Boxing Association (IBA) who disqualified both from last year's World Championships due to the results of an unspecified eligibility test.

"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 in Arabic.

"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.

"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."

Source Sky Sports

Posted August 5, 2024