Algeria’s Olympic Committee has condemned “baseless” attacks on their boxer Imane Khelif after questions were raised over her participation at the Paris Olympics.
Khelif is one of two athletes who have been cleared to compete in the women’s boxing, having been disqualified from last year’s Women’s World Championships for failing to meet eligibility criteria.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said Khelif was disqualified in New Delhi for failing a testosterone level test.
Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting was stripped of a bronze medal at the event, staged in March 2023, after failing a gender eligibility test.
Khelif will face Italian Angela Carini in a welterweight bout on Thursday, while featherweight Lin takes on Sitora Turdibekova on Friday.
Italy’s family minister Eugenia Roccella and sports minister Andrea Abodi have raised concerns about the eligibility rules at Paris, as have some of the boxers in the women’s competition.
The Algeria Olympic Committee (COA) said: “COA strongly condemns the unethical targeting and maligning of our esteemed athlete, Imane Khelif, with baseless propaganda from certain foreign media outlets.”
Khelif, who is a Unicef ambassador, has previously spoken, external about growing up in rural village and not being allowed to take part in sport initially by her father as “he did not approve of boxing for girls”.
The Algeria Olympic Committee added: “Such attacks on her personality and dignity are deeply unfair, especially as she prepares for the pinnacle of her career at the Olympics. The COA has taken all necessary measures to protect our champion.”
Both Khelif and Lin competed at the delayed Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021. Lin is a two-time winner at the Asian Women Amateur Boxing Championships.
The IOC said all boxers in Paris “comply with the competition’s eligibility and entry regulations”.
On Tuesday, IOC spokesman Mark Adams said: “These athletes have competed many times before for many years, they haven’t just suddenly arrived – they competed in Tokyo.”
