Algerian female boxer calls for end to bullying of athletes

An Algerian female boxer who faced public abuse at the Olympics has called for an end to the bullying of athletes.

Iman Khelif said the wave of hateful attention she has faced because of her gender is an insult to human dignity.

On Sunday night, in an interview with SNTV, the Associated Press’s sports video partner, the Algerian athlete described her ordeal, calling on viewers to uphold the Olympic principles and the Olympic Charter, the spirit and the mind, and to refrain from bullying in order not to divide people.

The victories of Khelif and her colleague Lin Yuting from Taiwan in the ring in Paris became one of the most high-profile episodes of the Paris Games. In the publication of the Russian service of the Voice of America reportedthat both women won their first Olympic medals despite facing abuse based on false statements about their gender.

The IOC has repeatedly declared Khelif and Lin eligible to compete in the Olympics, while condemning the IBA’s unclear testing standards and untransparent leadership.

The athlete competed for several years in the Russian-dominated IBA before she was abruptly suspended from the world championships last year. The IBA, which has been in a long-running dispute with the IOC, has refused to release details of the test results.