Boxer Imane Khelif was ‘born, lived as a female’: Uncle reveals details about her upbringing amid gender row

Imane Khelif’s uncle revealed that she used to stay with him and his wife when she started her boxing lessons. “We cared for her,” he added.

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif found herself in the centre of the gender row controversy following her match with Angela Carini from Italy. It all started when she was assumed to be a trans woman after defeating Carini. This led to a debate on social media about the boxer being male or transgender, with celebrated author JK Rowling and tech billionaire Elon Musk joining in to question her being qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Imane Khelif’s uncle spoke about her upbringing and way of tackling bullying amid gender row at the Olympics. (File Photo)

The International Boxing Association (IBA) has now announced that she has been disqualified from world championships for being “male”. This came as Khelif beat Thailand’s Janjaem Suwannapheng to reach the final in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Amid the row, her uncle Rachid Jabeur has opened up about Khelif and her upbringing, emphasising "Imane was born female and has lived as a female".

How did Imane Khelif’s journey as a boxer start?

According to the BBC, a boxing coach discovered Khelif’s talent when she was playing with a few boys on the streets as a kid. Soon after, she started taking coaching lessons, but her father decided to stop her at one point as people in her conservative village started spreading rumours. That is when her uncle, a city dweller, stepped in and told him that he and his wife would take care of Khelif so that she could continue her lessons.

Tough childhood

Though Khelif continued her lesson with her uncle’s help, she still had to work hard to earn to cover her training costs by selling scrap copper. However, she still faced bullying for being a girl who is learning boxing.

"We welcomed her into our home in the city [Tiaret] where we cared for her with special meals and for sports training,” Rachid told the outlet, adding, “We supported and encouraged her as part of our family."

“I always told my sons to accompany her to and from training sessions to protect her,” he said.

Overcoming bullying

“She is always trying to overcome this bullying, and there are people around her who support her,” he told the outlet. “She does not believe in defeat and does not care about these rumours,” he added.

In addition to Khelif, Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting was also disqualified from the World Championships after a chromosome test. According to the IBA, the test ruled both of them ineligible.

"We are talking about women's boxing. We have two boxers who were born as women, raised as women, who have passports as women and who have competed for many years as women and this is a clear definition of a woman," International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach told a press conference on Saturday. Earlier, the IOC stripped the status of the IBA as the global governing body for boxing.