PARIS — Crowds of women have shown up at Imane Khelif's fights during the Paris Olympics to rally around the Algerian boxer as she faced online abuse over misconceptions about her gender.
Hours before Khelif won a gold medal in the women's welterweight division Friday night, women arrived at Roland Garros wrapped in Algerian flags, many with no interest in boxing, but with the sole aim at supporting the 25-year-old boxer thrust into a worldwide clash over gender identity and regulation in sports. «I'm super happy that she got here, and I'm here to support her because she needs it, and she needs women to support her,» said Sarah Dayan, sitting on a bench with miniature Algerian flags hanging above it.
Khelif and fellow boxer Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan have been heavily scrutinized by those bringing up their disqualification from the world championships last year.
The Olympics-banned International Boxing Association claimed the two fighters failed unspecified eligibility tests for women's competition.