Imane Khelif had the final word after her gold medal triumph at Roland Garros on Friday.
The Algerian faced abuse after her presence at the Olympic Games became the subject of fierce contention.
However, she comprehensively defeated China’s Yang Liu by unanimous decision to win the 66kgs final at Paris 2024.
The Algerian welterweight had been confronted by accusations from IBA, the boxing body that has been expelled from the Olympic movement, that she should not be competing in the women’s category.
IBA used an unspecified eligibility test to disqualify Khelif from their World championships last year, a verdict delivered only once Khelif reached the final.
Even though she does meet the IOC’s criteria, a dispute erupted about her place at Paris 2024, a controversy that reached fever pitch when she abruptly halted Italy’s Angela Carini in just 46 seconds.
However at every stage of her tournament, amid all the furore, Khelif has walked proudly into the arena and proudly out again with the results she needed secured.
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That culminated in spectacular scenes of celebration at Roland Garros on Friday, when Khelif beat China’s Yang Liu to win the 66kgs gold in front of a crowd of supporters numbering in the thousands.
With the greatest prize in amateur boxing won, Khelif could close her Paris 2024 with a final message.
“As for whether I qualify or not, whether I’m a woman or not – I have made many statements in the media – I am fully qualified to take part in this competition,” she told the world’s media after the gold medal bout.
“I’m a woman like any other woman.
“I was born a woman, I lived a woman, I competed as a woman. There’s no doubt about that.”
She added: “There are enemies, enemies of success. This is what I call them.
“These are the enemies of success. And that also gives my success a special taste because of these attacks.”
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Throughout it all she had not lost sight of her goal.
“First and foremost, the Olympics is a dream, it’s a dream for every athlete,” she said.
“Here in Paris, thank God, the whole world, the Arab world, the Algerians, they all know how hard I worked.”
She hopes a lesson can be learned from her extraordinary experience.
“I think that the whole world now knows the story of Imane Khelif. I’m from a very small village, from a very small family. I was born and raised in poor neighbourhoods. But my family was always proud of me, they always supported me in this sport,” she said.
“My message to the whole world is that they should commit to Olympic principles and they should avoid bullying. They should not bully people. This is a message of the Olympics. The Olympic values are extremely important and I hope that people will stop bullying.
“I hope that we will not see any similar attacks in future Olympics.
“The attacks I heard on social media were extremely bad, they were meaningless, and they impact the dignity of people,” she continued.
“All the women that came to support me today sent a message, saying that our honour is above everything else.”
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Source : Sky Sports
