Imane Khelif has become one of the icons of the Paris Olympics. Irrespective of the controversies, the Olympic champion from Algeria revealed her side of the story, describing how tough it was for her to pursue the dream of Olympic glory.

Khelif opened up on her ordeal in a recent interview with Clique TV. When asked about the hate campaign launched against her by the likes of Riley Gaines, Elon Musk, JK Rowling etc., Khelif responded,

..I would say, You hate me but you dont even know me. I dont even know why you led this attack. You have been cruel to me, cruel to my family, and my mother.

Imane Khelif further revealed how her mother had to suffer because of the constant hate spread against the Algerian boxer. Struggling to control her emotions, she said:

At that time, my mother was going to hospital every day. So I dont understand the behavior of people today. God is my guide. I am a practicing Muslim woman. As I said, I am a Muslim Arabic woman, and I got through this moment. I hope I will be even stronger in the future, and come back even more motivated.

Imane Khelifs chances of making it to the Paris Olympics were not very high, courtesy of her disqualification over her gender eligibility from the IBA World Championships held at New Delhi in 2023. Imane Khelif had previously participated at the Tokyo Olympics, though she was eliminated in the quarterfinals.

However, when IBA was suspended by the IOC, and the organizers of the Paris Olympics took over, both Lin yu Ting [who faced the same issues] and Imane Khelif were allowed to participate in the Paris Olympics.

Khelifs first bout against Angela Carini became the talk of the town. In less than 45 seconds, the Italian boxer called it quits and abandoned the match, leading to widespread criticism of both the Algerian boxers and the organizing committee of the Paris Olympics. Many celebrities, from Riley Gaines to Elon Musk, to even the likes of Jake Paul and former Olympic champion Claressa Shields criticized this move, calling out the IOC for not being clear on their stand on such boxers.

However, undeterred by the criticism, the Algerian boxer went on to assure Algeria of an Olympic medal, when she pummeled Anna Luca Hamori of Hungary in the quarterfinals. Hamori protested against the same by showing an X symbol, signifying the female gender, only for her efforts to go in vain.

In the semifinals, Imane Khelif comfortably defeated Thailands Janjaem Suwannapheng and faced Yang Liu of China, who was the defending world champion, as well as the Asian champion. Imane Khelif defeated Yang Liu to win the Olympic gold medal.