The Algerian boxer at the centre of a gender row at the Paris Olympics has filed a legal complaint saying she has been a victim of online harassment.
Imane Khelif’s lawyer Nabil Boudi said the complaint was filed with the Paris Prosecutor’s Office on Friday.
The fighter won every round on every judges scorecards to claim the gold medal by beating Chinese world champion Yang Liu by unanimous decision to, but is unhappy with the treatment she has recieved during the tournament.
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The IBA had said that Khelif and Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting, who won her own final on Saturday, “failed to meet the eligibility criteria for participating in the women’s competition, as set and laid out in the IBA regulations”.
In response the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which currently runs the boxing events at the Olympics, has allowed the pair to compete and strongly criticised the IBA, insisting Khelif and Lin were “born and raised as women”.
Speaking to the world media after her win Khelif hit-back at the critics that had questioned her inclusion and gender.
She said: “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.
“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 continued: “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.”
“First and foremost, the Olympics is a dream, it’s a dream for every athlete.
“Here in Paris, thank God, the whole world, the Arab world, the Algerians, they all know how hard I worked.”
