Imane Khelif Childhood Photos Goes Viral Amid Massive Backlash Over Gender Controversy in Paris: 'Proud of You Queen'

Imane Khelif's childhood photos surface during the Olympic Gender Row, proving she is a woman.

By Blesson Daniel

Published on Aug 05, 2024 | 11:05 PM IST | 888.4K

Imane Khelif [Credit-Instagram@imane_khelif_10]

Imane Khelif, an Algerian boxer, is at the heart of a gender eligibility issue that erupted following her victory over Italian fighter Angela Carini at the Paris Olympics on August 1.

Khelif, who is currently competing in her second Olympics, previously represented Algeria at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in 2021. Since then, she has been embroiled in scandal, and her recent triumph has just fueled the flames, according to Fox News.

But recently, several childhood photos of Algerian boxer Imane Khelif appeared on social media days after a gender dispute erupted at the Paris Olympics. The 25-year-old beat her opponent, Angela Carini, in 46 seconds with two blows to the Italian's nose, which began bleeding profusely.

The latter backed away and collapsed on her knees, weeping. Former US President Donald Trump, novelist JK Rowling, and Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, among others, have all expressed outrage.

Khelif was excluded from the 2023 World Championships for failing specific qualifying criteria for women's competition administered by the now-banned International Boxing Association.

At birth, the Algerian boxer was given the gender female. The same goes for her passport. She met the International Olympic Committee's criteria for participation. Khelif was disqualified in 2023 after it was discovered that her testosterone levels were above the allowable limit for female participants. Her victory over Carini has sparked a passionate debate over restrictions in women's sports, particularly those affecting athletes with Differences in Sex Development (DSD).

Some of Khelif's childhood photos have appeared on social media, causing fans to come in her support; as one fan wrote, “It’s so crazy that they’ve had to post Imane Khelif childhood pictures to prove that she was born a woman because she packed a white woman with one punch in 40 seconds. White women tears ruin lives.”

Then another fan said he’s ‘proud’ of Imane. The fan wrote, “see this little angel girl ? yeah. that’s imane khelif that everyone claims to be a man as you can see she’s 100% GIRL. we’re proud of you queen.”

Another fan came in support telling, “Here is the boxer Imane Khelif when she was little. **She** Shared by Mike Tyson. Everyone is still bashing her because of a genetic abnormality.”

Another fan wrote, “o the degree where her childhood pics are trending and widespread to prove sm! The world is insanely cruel, misogynistic, racist and ugly for this. Imane Khelif has no obligation whatsoever to prove anything to anyone. She is an Olympic champion in Women’s Boxing. That’s it.”

This fan apologized to Imane Khelif for the gender cruelty she is facing as she wrote, “Imane Khelif, an Algerian boxer was called a man by her opponent. Social Media bandwagon bullied Imane until her childhood photos & Cis discourse popped proving her a born female. Racism, transphobia, Islamophobia, all played out. We owe her an apology!”

Also Read: Is Imane Khelif Really Married? All you need to know