'I am a woman like any woman. But many can't digest my success,' says Algeria's gold medal winner Khelif

Algeria's Imane Khelif, the female boxer thrust into the centre of a gender dispute at the Paris Games, made a statement on her womanhood after beating China's Yang Liu to take the welterweight Olympic gold medal, sending her newfound devotees into delirium on Friday.

Khelif, silver medallist at the 2022 World Championships, and Taiwan boxer Lin Yu-ting have been in the spotlight as part of a gender dispute in Paris that has dominated headlines and been the subject of much discussion on social media platforms.

The boxer has been the victim of a social media hate campaign that portrays her as a "man fighting women".

"I'm a strong woman with special powers. From the ring, I sent a message to those who were against me," she said on Friday after her win.

Khelif, who won by unanimous decision, is the first Algerian woman to earn an Olympic boxing title and the first boxer from her country to claim gold since Hocine Soltani at Atlanta 1996. Women's boxing has been in the Olympics since London 2012.

Women pray as they watch the final match on a large screen. Agence France-Presse

"This is my dream. Eight years, my dream. I'm Olympic champion, gold medallist. I'm very happy. Eight years, I work," Khelif, 25, said.

"Eight years, no sleep. Eight years, tired. Now I'm Olympic champion. I'm very happy. I want to thank all the people come to support me. People, Algeria, and all the people, Paris.

"This gold medal is the best answer to the fierce campaign against me."

Responding to the controversy surrounding her, Khelif told a press conference: "I am a woman like any woman. I was born a woman and I have lived as a woman, but there are enemies to success and they can't digest my success."

Hometown bursts into joy

Tiaret, the poor, rural hometown of Algerian boxer Imane Khelif erupted in joy on Friday as she won gold at the Paris Olympics in the face of a major gender controversy.

Children wear the colours of the Algerian national flag as they watch the match. Agence France-Presse

Cheers of Khelif's name and the country's famous chant "one two three, viva l'Algerie" broke out in Biban Mesbah, a town of around 6,000 people.

"It's Algeria's victory," her father, Omar Khelif, told reporters as he watched the fight on a giant screen along with the rest of the village around 300 kilometres (185 miles) southwest of Algiers.

Villagers fired shots into the air in honour of 25-year-old Khelif's first Olympic medal following her victory over China's Yang Liu in the women's 66kg final.

The jubilation also spread to the capital Algiers, where crowds invaded the city centre, celebrating the victory with fireworks and a chorus of car horns.

This is my dream. Eight years, my dream. Eight years, no sleep. Eight years, tired. Now I'm Olympic champion. I'm very happy. I want to thank all the people come to support me. People, Algeria, and all the people, Paris

— Imane Khelif

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune joined the celebrations on social media site X, saying: "We are all proud of you, Olympic champion Imane, your victory today is Algeria's victory and your gold is Algeria's gold."

'Strong woman'

Ahead of Khelif's fight, hundreds of volunteers turned out in Biban Mesbah to help prepare for the big night.

Despite scorching temperatures of 46˚C, the men carried out a vast clean-up operation while dozens of women were busy cooking a giant couscous.

"We agreed to give the village a new face and breathe new life into it, with the victory of Imane Khelif," her cousin Mounir Khelif, 36, told the media.

"We all helped each other, some bringing couscous, others oil and vegetables, while those who couldn't help with provisions helped with the preparation," said Amina Saadi, 52, a mother of six.

People celebrate in Tiaret after her victory. Agence France-Presse

"We are all united behind Imane Khelif, who has honoured Algeria, that's the least we can offer her," she said.

'Conservative family'

The gender controversy ignited in the French capital when Khelif defeated Angela Carini in 46 seconds in her opening bout, the Italian reduced to tears and abandoning the fight after suffering a badly hurt nose.

Algerians from all walks of life have showed their solidarity with Khelif, irritated that her father was forced to show her birth certificate to journalists to prove she was born a girl.

Khelif's international career took off with her participation at the Covid-delayed Tokyo Olympics in 2021, where she finished fifth in her weight class.

In 2023, she made it to the semi-finals of the world championships in New Delhi.

But then she was disqualified following a gender eligibility testing by the International Boxing Association, which is not recognised by the International Olympic Committee and is not running the sport in Paris.

Supporters and relatives watch Khelif's bout in Bibane Mesbah. Associated Press

From a family of limited means, she spoke before the Games of the difficulty of her life in "a village of conservative people" in semi-desert surroundings.

Imane said that her father initially found it difficult to accept her boxing.

"I came from a conservative family. Boxing is not a widely practised sport by women, especially in Algeria," she told Canal Algerie a month before the Games, smiling readily and her voice soft.

In an interview with UNICEF, she said she used to sell scrap metal and her mother sold homemade couscous to pay for bus tickets to a nearby town.

Agencies