Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, who won the gold medal in boxing at the Paris Olympics, said that questions about her gender affected and hurt her a lot. From former US President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk to British author JK Rowling and scores of others on social media targeted Ms Khelif following her first-round bout against Italy's Angela Carini that lasted 46 seconds.
“This thing that affected me, I'm not lying to you, it affected me,” Ms Khelif said in an interview with El Birad in Algeria. A translated video of the interview was posted on X by journalist Salaiman Ahmed.
"It affected me a lot, it hurt me a lot. I can't describe to you the amount of fear I had," Ms Khelif said.
She wondered why there was an uproar from big politicians around the world. "I was afraid, but thank God, I managed to overcome this phase, thanks to the specialists who helped me overcome this stage," she added.
“The scenario was very scary. Thank God, all the people of Algeria and the Arab world knew Imane Ms Khelif with her femininity, her courage, her will,” Ms Khelif said.
Ms Khelif's reaction came after Donald Trump repeatedly referred to her as a man during a campaign rally in Montana on August 9.
“Who wants men to participate in women's sports? I would like to congratulate the young woman who transitioned from a man into a boxer. He... She won the gold medal," Trump said.
Musk, who has thrown his weight behind Trump for the November 5 Presidential polls, also took potshots at the Algerian boxer by indirectly referring to her as a man in a series of social media posts.
Imane Khelif along with Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan was subjected to trolling and intense criticism after it surfaced that the boxers were disqualified during the 2023 IBA World Boxing Championships for failing gender eligibility tests.
Ms Khelif, who defeated China's Yang Liu in the Paris Olympics 2024 for gold, has also filed a cyberbullying lawsuit naming Elon Musk and Harry Potter author J K Rowling over alleged "acts of aggravated cyber harassment", according to Variety.
The lawsuit has been filed against X in France.
