Internet digs up Imane Khelif's alleged childhood picture as boxer faces gender outcry
A picture claimed to be of Imane Khelif's childhood has gone viral on social media following the controversy in Olympic boxing.
Controversies surrounding Alegeria's Imane Khelif took an interesting turn after the boxer's alleged childhood picture started making the rounds on the internet. According to multiple reports, Khelif was born a female and has always identified as one, and in a picture, she is allegedly seen as a little girl.
On Thursday, Khelif won her first Olympic boxing bout after Italian opponent Angela Carini pulled out of the competition after participating in merely 46 seconds of action. Speculations about Khelif's gender were strife, and the International Boxing Association (IBA) condemned the IOC's decision to permit her to participate in the event.
The IBA said that IOC was indulging in "inconsistent application of eligibility criteria" and that based on previous evaluations, Khelif had "competitive advantages over other female competitors."
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Khelif has participated in boxing in women's categories since she was a child. She secured a silver medal at the 2022 IBA World Championship. However, last year at the women's world boxing championship in India, hours before her anticipated gold medal bout against China's Yang Liu, Khelif was banned due to apparent excessive testosterone levels.
In an unexpected twist, Yang Liu also faced disqualification. Her bronze medal was revoked after she failed to meet the IBA's eligibility criteria, which "prohibit athletes with XY chromosomes from competing in the women's category.
Social media has been divided over the controversy, but many users took to 'X' to support Khelif after her childhood picture surfaced on social media. Users have criticized the need for Khelif to provide proof of her childhood being spent as a girl and a woman.
An alleged picture of Imane Khelif's childhood has now surfaced on social media to prove she is indeed a female.
Born in 1999, Khelif is from rural northwestern Algeria. Her father initially didn't approve of girls participating in boxing, but Khelif said she gave up football as a teenager to pursue her new passion, even though she had to travel 10 kilometers each way to the gym.
Khelif eventually caught the attention of Algeria's national team, making her major tournament debut in 2018 with a first-round loss at the AIBA — now the International Boxing Association — world championships. She lost five of her first six elite-level bouts, but improved and excelled.
