Algerian boxer Imane Khelif got caught up in controversy after her opponent, Angela Carini from Italy, suddenly walked away from their fight at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Even though Khelif was born female and identifies as a woman, her participation in the match stirred up a lot of debate.
Now, her father has finally spoken out.
On August 1, during Khelif’s boxing match with Carini, the fight unexpectedly ended when the Italian boxer left the ring early, saying she was experiencing “severe pain” in her nose.
After her opponent left the match, Imane Khelif was automatically declared the winner. But, some people think she shouldn’t compete against other women because she was disqualified from the 2023 world championships for having high testosterone levels.
Imane’s father, Amar Khelif, defended her, expressing pride in her achievements. He said, “Having such a daughter is an honor because she is a champion. She made me proud, and I encourage her. I hope she wins a medal in Paris.” He also mentioned that Imane has loved sports since she was 6 years old.
To clear up any doubts about her gender, Amar Khelif showed an official document that says, “Imane Khelif, female,” dated May 2, 1999. He insisted that this document is the truth.
The controversy led Angela Carini, the Italian boxer, to apologize to Khelif on August 2. She told an Italian news outlet that she was sorry for what happened and that she respects the decision allowing Khelif to fight. Carini explained that she didn’t mean for things to turn out this way and apologized to Khelif and everyone else.
Imane Khelif also spoke out, asking people to stop bullying athletes. She told SNTV, “Bullying can destroy people’s spirits and minds. It can divide people, and that’s why I’m asking everyone to stop doing it.”
Despite all the controversy, Khelif’s story shows the tough challenges athletes face when they’re under public scrutiny. Her father’s support and her own request for kindness remind us how important it is to show respect and understanding in sports.
As the debate goes on, Khelif is still focused on her goal of succeeding in the Olympics and making her family and country proud. The journey hasn’t been easy, but with her father’s encouragement and her own determination, she aims to overcome these challenges and continue on her path as a champion.
Denzel Washington tells it like it is, he doesn’t hold back
Denzel Washington tells it like it is. Though not a conservative by any stretch of the imagination, he lacks the arrogance, vapidity, and radicaI leftism peculiar to Hollywood personalities.
Instead, he tends to speak the truth as he sees it in a reasonable, rational way that’s quite unlike what’s normally associated with Hollywood.
Such was the case back in 2016 when actors were patting themselves on the back and saying that making a movie was like going to a w ar zone…yes, really.
Well, Denzel demolished that Iie during an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, saying People say ‘the difficulty of making a movie.’ Well, send your son to Iraq. That’s difficult.
It’s just a movie, relax. I don’t play that precious nonsense. Your son got shot in the face? That’s difficuIt. Making a movie is a luxury. It’s a gift. But don’t get it twisted, it’s just a movie.
Denzel’s comments might have been a response to Tom Cruise, who had been somewhat misleadingly quoted in 2013 as saying that filming a movie was brutaI like a tour of duty in Afgha nistan.
The Hollywood Reporter was involved in that story too, reporting:
Don’t underestimate the work that Cruise does. As far as he’s concerned, acting is like competing in the Olympics, and sometimes like fighting in Afgha nistan. I train, you know, I’ve studied, you know, professional athletes, Olympians, in order to, you know, a sprinter for the Olympics, they only have to run two races a day, Cruise explains. When I’m shooting, I couId potentially have to run 30, 40 races a day, day after day
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