Is Imane Khelif Really Married? All you need to know

Imane Khelif is under a lot of trouble amid the gender test failure controversy in the Paris Olympics 2024. Here’s everything you need to know about her married life.

By Blesson Daniel

Published on Aug 02, 2024 | 09:49 PM IST | 3.4M

Imane Khelif [Credit-Instagram@imane_khelif_10]

Imane Khelif was born on May 2, 1999, in a remote community in Tiaret Province, North Western Algeria. Growing up in an agricultural household, she had several hurdles, including a lack of local training facilities. She started off playing football but eventually shifted to boxing.

To follow her ambition, she had to go to a nearby hamlet for training and sell scrap metal to pay for the bus trip. Her father opposed boxing.

As per the most recent information, Imane Khelif is not publicly known to be married.
No information about her marriage is available on the internet. It is likely that she is not married and is now single.

Imane Khelif's boxing career began with several early disappointments. In 2018, she competed in the AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships but was eliminated in the first round, placing 17th. She participated again in the AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships, finishing 33rd and was eliminated in the first round.

Khelif represented Algeria in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. She competed in the women's boxing event but was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Kellie Harrington of Ireland.

Khelif had a successful 2022. She became the first Algerian female boxer to reach the final of the IBA Women's World Boxing Championships, however, she lost to Amy Broadhurst and finished second. She also won gold medals in the Mediterranean Games, Arab Games, and African Amateur Boxing Championship.

Everything appeared to be working properly until the 2023 World Cup, which was organized by the International Boxing Association. The Russia-led IBA, which is not recognized by the International Olympic Committee, banned Khelif after a gender eligibility test revealed she has XY chromosomes.

IBA president Umar Kremlev has stated that both Khelif and Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting, who supposedly had a similar test result, "were trying to deceive their colleagues and pretend to be women." Khelif has refuted the charges.

Khelif and Lin have both been admitted to Olympic boxing contests. Admission rules, in this case, are handled by the so-called Boxing Unit, which has ensured that all athletes competing in the Games boxing tournament comply with the rules of eligibility and registration for the competition, as well as all medical regulations, which include the appropriate demonstration of medical certificates stamped and verified at least three months before the start of the competitions.

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif won her first battle at the 2024 Paris Olympics after her Italian opponent, Angela Carini, resigned after sustaining numerous hits to the face in the first few seconds. The triumph merely added to the misplaced controversy around Khelif, who has been attacked by detractors who have misgendered her throughout the Games.

The truth is that Khelif is competing in the Games because she is permitted under the regulations and has met the IOC's requirements. “The current aggression against these two athletes is based entirely on this arbitrary decision,” said the Boxing Unit and IOC in a statement Thursday, referring to the IBA ban.

“[It] was taken without any proper procedure—especially considering that these athletes had been competing in top-level competition for many years. Such an approach is contrary to good governance.”

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