Imane Khelif’s father insists his daughter is just a ‘strong girl’ and accused her defeated Italian opponent Angela Carini of being ‘softer’. Khelif possesses higher testosterone levels than the average woman, which saw her excluded from last year’s World Championship and has caused debate over his presence at the Olympics.
Carini withdrew from her fight with Khelif after just 46 seconds, claiming she has never been punched so hard in her career. The boxer has since apologised to the Algerian for her behaviour post-fight, which included refusing to shake her hand.
Khelif’s father has now slammed criticism of his daughter’s participation. “My child is a girl. She was raised as a girl. She’s a strong girl,” Amar Khelif told Sky News.
“I raised her to be hard-working and brave. She has a strong will to work and to train. The Italian opponent she faced was unable to beat my daughter because my daughter was stronger and she was softer.”
In a separate interview, Mr Khelif slammed criticism of his daughter as ‘immoral’. He said: “The attacks against her are immoral, it is not fair.
“Imane is a little girl that has loved sport since she was six-years-old, she used to play football. These critics and rumours aim to destabilise Imane, they don’t want her to be the champion of the world.
“I tell her prove them wrong in the ring and I hope that she will honour Algeria and Arabic countries and win the gold medal. She is our role model, and we want to be like her and honour Algeria and Tiaret.”
Khelif has lost nine fights during her career. She faces Luca Hamori in the next round. Hamori insists she is not scared of the 25-year-old and questioned Carini for withdrawing.
The Hungarian, who has posted controversial and provocative pictures depicting Khelif as a horned beast, said: “I’m not scared. If she or he is a man, it will be a bigger victory for me if I win. So let’s do it. I can’t wait for that fight. In my club at home I have only guys and male team-mates. It’s not new for me.
“It was Carini’s choice [to give up]. I don’t understand because I thought every boxer’s mind is the same like mine. Never give up. I know I won’t do this ever in my whole life.”
She added: “I know her [Khelif] from other competitions but we didn’t have any sparring or fight before.
“I don’t care about the stories, what is going on the social media right now. I just want to stay focused on myself and I know why I came here. I want to get a medal from the Olympic Games. I will go to the ring and I will get my win. I trust myself so I think I can win.”
