New Delhi: Paris Olympics gold medallist Imane Khelif has officially lodged a legal complaint in France over suffering online harassment amid the gender row controversy, as revealed by her lawyer Nabil Boudi on Sunday.
On Friday, the Algerian boxer won gold medal in women’s 66kg category after defeating China’s Yang Liu in four rounds with a unanimous decision. She received massive support from the crowd as chants of ‘Khelif, Khelif’ were screeched at the Arena Paris Nord in Villepinte.
According to a report by news agency Associated Press, Khelif filed the harassment complaint to combat hate speech on internet. The complaint was filed in the presence of a special unit in the Paris prosecutor’s office. In a statement released by Nabil, the Algerian pugilist faced a campaign involved with ‘misogynist, racist and sexist’ remarks.
It is now up to prosecutors to decide whether to open an investigation. As is common in French law, the complaint doesn’t name an alleged perpetrator but leaves it to investigators to determine who could be at fault.
The 33rd edition of the Summer Games has been marred with one of its biggest controversy in women’s boxing, which further casts doubt over the sport’s inclusion in the next edition at Los Angeles in 2028. The controversy erupted after Khelif won her first round in just 46 seconds against Italy’s Angela Carini. The Italian wasn’t able to bear the blows and opted to withdrew.
This sparked an online outrage with Khelif being called as male boxer participating in women’s event. The links of Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu Ting disqualified by the International Boxing Association at the World Championships last year only exacerbated the matter. The two boxers were disqualified for failing gender eligibility tests.
Questions were pushed on the International Olympic Committe (IOC) for allowing the two boxers to compete at the Paris Games. The IOC has called the arbitrary sex tests that the sport’s governing body imposed on the two women irretrievably flawed and has defended both boxers since the start of this edition. It should be noted that the IBA has banned by the IOC at present.
Experts say the scrutiny of Khelif and Lin reflected disproportionate scrutiny and discrimination toward female athletes of colour when it comes to sex testing and false claims that they are male or transgender.
(With inputs from Associated Press)
Imane Khelif filed the harassment complaint to combat hate speech on internet. The complaint was filed in the presence of a special unit in the Paris prosecutor’s office. In a statement released by Nabil, the Algerian pugilist faced a campaign involved with ‘misogynist, racist and sexist’ rem Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
