PARIS — Algerian boxer Imane Kherif, who found herself at the center of a gender debate at the Paris Olympics, has worked hard to reach the level she is at but is the victim of a power struggle for control of the sport, her coach said Tuesday.
The International Boxing Association (IBA) has banned Kheriff from competing in IBA-sanctioned women’s tournaments after she failed a gender eligibility test.
She will be able to take part in the Olympics after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) stripped the IBA of its status as boxing’s governing body in 2023 and took over running the boxing events in Paris.
The furor surrounding her began after her Italian opponent, Angela Carini, withdrew from the Olympic round of 16 after 46 seconds after being hit by a vicious punch.
“We’ve been training hard for the last two years,” Mohammed Chaoua, who has coached Kherif since he was a teenager, said at a cafe outside the Olympic Village. “The gold medal is the best response they can get.”
Kheriff outshone Thailand’s Janjaem Suwannapen on Tuesday to reach the 66kg final, where he will face China’s Yang Liu for the gold medal.
Chaur said the controversy had hit Kheriff hard.
“Imane is very shocked by the situation. (She) said, ‘Why me?'” he said. “She didn’t succumb to this campaign (of abuse). She gave them a lesson in ethics.”
In a chaotic press conference on Monday, the IBA announced that both Kheriff and Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting had been disqualified after sex chromosome tests determined they were ineligible to compete in the 2023 world championships.
The IOC says the IBA is a discredited organisation, mired in financial opacity and compromised by ties to the Russian leadership.
The IBA said its press conference was evidence that it was not fit to run boxing and that a new body needed to be created to govern the sport.
The IOC claims the genetic tests given to Khelif and Lin were flawed and carried out without due process.
2024 Paris Olympics
“Imane is a woman,” Chaua said, adding that she is like a daughter to him.
Chaoua met Khelib in their hometown of Tiaret in 2015 but had to convince her father to let her take up boxing as it was not common for women to do so in their conservative household.
The eldest of seven children, she was shy as a child and helped her family with household chores and finances by selling bread on the street.
“I kept encouraging her and telling her you can be a champion. It’s a story of struggle,” he said, recounting how she suffered as a child.
Chauhua said the bout between Kherif and Italian welterweight boxer Carini was not the first time the pair had fought each other.
Kalini, who refused to shake Kherif’s hand after the match, later said he wanted to apologise to the Algerian.
“She had a quicker reaction time than the other contestants and she gave it her all. Imane surprised everyone. Before she developed the muscles everyone is criticizing her for, she was very skinny,” Chaua said.
