Imane Khelif, the Algerian boxer thrust into the centre of a gender dispute at the Paris Olympics, has grafted hard to reach her level and is the victim of a power struggle for control of the sport, her coach said on Tuesday.
Khelif is banned by the International Boxing Association (IBA) from competing in IBA-sanctioned women's tournaments after it said she had failed a gender eligibility test.
She has been able to take part in the Olympics after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) stripped the IBA of its status as the sport's governing body in 2023 and took control of organising the boxing in Paris.
The storm surrounding her erupted after her Italian opponent Angela Carini pulled out of their round-of-16 Olympic bout after 46 seconds during which she came under a barrage of punches.
"We have worked hard over the past two years," Mohamed Chaoua, Khelif's coach since she was a teenager, said in a cafe outside the Olympic village. "The gold medal is the best response to these people."
Khelif faces Janjaem Suwannapheng of Thailand, whom she beat at the IBA World Championships in 2023 before being disqualified, later on Tuesday in a semi-final contest.
The controversy had taken its toll on Khelif, Chaoua said.
"Imane has been greatly affected by this situation. (She said) 'Why me?'," he continued.
"She has not surrendered to this campaign (of abuse). She has given them a lesson in ethics."
In a shambolic press conference, the IBA said on Monday that Khelif and Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting had been disqualified from the 2023 World Championships after a sex chromosome test ruled both of them ineligible.
FAMILY STRUGGLE
The IOC says the IBA is a discredited organisation, mired in financial opaqueness and compromised by ties to the Russian leadership. The IBA's press conference was evidence the body was not fit to run boxing and a new governing body for the sport needed to emerge, it said.
The genetic tests imposed on Khelif and Lin were conducted without due process and were flawed, the IOC maintains.
"Imane is a woman," Chaoua said, adding that she was like a daughter to him.
Chaoua met Khelif in her hometown of Tiaret in 2015 and had to convince her father to let her box as women's boxing was not common in conservative families.
She is the eldest of seven siblings, was shy as a young girl and would help the family at home and economically by selling bread on the roadside, he said.
"I continued to motivate her and tell her she would be a champion. It is a story of struggle," he said, recounting how she had suffered as a child.
Khelif's bout against Italian welterweight Carini was not the first time the pair had fought, Chaoua said. Carini, who declined to shake Khelif's hand after the fight, later said she wanted to apologise to the Algerian.
"She is distinguished by her quick reaction compared to other competitors. She gave it her all. Imane surprised everyone. She used to be very thin before she developed the muscles that everyone is criticising now," Chaoua said.
