2024-08-17 05:32:02
TIARET, Algeria (AP) — New Olympic boxing champion Iman Khalif praised Algeria’s support for its athletes Friday in front of fans who welcomed her back to her homeland and hoped to make fellow Algerians proud again. .
Since returning home earlier this week, the football-obsessed North African country has given Khalif the treatment usually reserved for celebrities. Admiration for him is particularly notable in Taret, a rural area in central Algeria where Khalif grew up and learned to box.
Boxer and national track and field star Djamel Sedjati was honored by local leaders and then paraded through the streets on the top deck of a bus as hundreds of residents raised their hands for photos.
“All Algerian men and women have the right to be happy and celebrate,” Khalif told reporters at the local government office on Friday. “This shows the support of the government and people for sports.”
As Khalif progressed through the Olympics, Algerians fiercely defended her from the undue attention and incorrect speculation about her gender.
Although Khalif was born and raised as a woman, she has found herself embroiled in widespread controversies over gender and sport in the West. The controversy was sparked by reports that the athlete had failed a series of vague and unspecified tests for women’s qualification in 2023 by the International Boxing Association, an organization currently marginalized in the Olympic movement.
Billionaire Elon Musk, author JK Rowling and former US President Donald Trump are among those claiming Khalif is a man in social media posts. Algerians see the controversy as an attack on their country.
Tiaret residents acknowledged on Friday the difficulties Khalif faced during the Olympics and hoped his success was just the beginning.
“We hope that the authorities will support her in moments of triumph like hers and for the rest of the year. She suffered greatly and started from the bottom,” said Mohammed Ha, who was sitting next to Tiaret Khalif on Friday afternoon. Mu said.
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