“I started with nothing and now I have everything,” Algerian boxer Imane Khelif said in an interview with the UNICEF office in Algeria, before her participation in the ongoing Paris Olympic Games.
In a village located northwest of Algeria, Khelif grew up with a father who was a welder, and a mother did her best to improve their living conditions.
Her life was not luxurious, and one obstacle after another collided with her rosy dreams.
At the age of 16, she played football in her rural village and learned how to avoid her opponent’s attacks. She would then give up playing football, and focused on boxing – a sport considered even more difficult for a girl.
In a neighboring village, she trained to wear gloves on her hands.
Once a week, for tens of kilometers, Khelif had to go sell scrap and bread, to pay the travel expenses.
At the age of 19, after three difficult years, Khelif reaped the fruits of her tireless efforts as she came in 17th place in the World Championship in New Delhi 2018.
Then she carried the Algerian flag on her shoulder in the 2019 World Championship in Moscow, and came in 33rd place.
A golden Journey
By 2022, Khelif became the first Algerian to reach the final of an IBF championship, and won silver.
In March 2023, she was disqualified by the IBF, before the final of the 66kg World Championship, in New Delhi, for not meeting the eligibility criteria.
Her participation in the Paris 2024 Olympics has caused wide controversy, especially after Angela Carini withdrew from the round of 16 competitions less than a minute after the start of the fight, which reopened the issue before the President of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach confirmed her eligibility and right to participate.
She continued her journey to the final in the 66 kg weight class and won the gold medal of the current Games, at the expense of China’s Liu Yang.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
