A boxing match held in the Paris Olympics has shaken sports lovers all over the world. The controversy over this match grew so much that even famous people like Elon Musk jumped into the debate. The reason for this controversy is Algerian boxer Iman Khelife, who is accused of being a man and not a woman. Actually, on August 1, in the pre-quarterfinals of the women's welterweight category, a match was held between Italian boxer Angela Carini and Algerian boxer Iman Khelife. This match ended within just 46 seconds of starting. Khelife hit such a punch that Carini refused to play further. This is where the whole controversy started. After all, who is the controversial Olympic boxer Iman Khelife?

Junk sold for boxing

Iman Kheleif, who was surrounded by controversies due to many allegations in the Paris Olympics, was made the National Ambassador of UNICEF in 2024. Her boxing journey has been full of struggles. Kheleif was born in Tiaret, Algeria in 1999. The 25-year-old boxer was initially fond of playing football, but later she decided to make boxing her career.

When Khelif started boxing, she had to travel to another village by bus for training. At that time, Khelif was very poor and did not have money to travel by bus. So she used to arrange money for herself by selling junk. Not only this, her father did not like girls doing boxing at all. Still, Khelif did not give up and continued her sport despite all the problems.

Bad start to career

Iman Kheleef was fighting her problems and progressing in boxing, but her career did not start well. At the age of 19, Kheleef made her debut in the 2018 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championship. Her performance in this tournament was not very good and she was eliminated in the first round itself. She finished at number 17.

She made a comeback in the 2019 World Boxing Championship and once again lost in the first round. This time Kheleef's performance was even worse and she was eliminated from the tournament at number 33. She also qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but once again faced defeat in the quarter-final match.

did wonders in 2022

Khelife did not lose courage despite the defeat at the beginning of her career. She kept working on her boxing skills. Then came the year 2022, when she started doing wonders. She once again participated in the 2022 World Boxing Championship. This time she managed to reach the final. She was the first female boxer from Algeria to do so. However, she lost in the final match, but won the silver medal. This year she also won gold in the Arab Games, Mediterranean Games and African Championship.

In controversy since 2023, accused of being a man

In the year 2023, Kheleef entered the World Boxing Championship with the intention of winning and even reached the final. However, before the gold medal match, the International Boxing Association (IBA) disqualified her. The reason behind disqualifying her was the high amount of testosterone in Kheleef's body. Later, the IBA president also revealed that during the DNA test, X, Y chromosomes were found in Kheleef's body, which are found in men. However, the association's test also came under controversy. At the same time, Kheleef also called the IBA's decision a big conspiracy. Now she has once again come under controversy with the same allegation in the Paris Olympics.