TIARET, Algeria (AP) — In front of a crowd of supporters who welcomed her back to her country on Friday, the newly crowned Olympic boxing champion Imane Khelif praised Algeria for supporting its athletes, and expressed confidence in making her fellow countrymen proud again in the future.
The North African country, obsessed with football, has given Khelif a treatment typically reserved for celebrities since the beginning of this week, when he returned to the nation. The displays of admiration have been particularly notable in Taret, the predominantly rural region in central Algeria, where Khelif grew up and learned to box.
The fighter and the national athletics star Djamel Sedjati were honored by local leaders, and then paraded through the streets on the upper deck of a bus, while hundreds of residents raised their hands and took photos of them.
"All Algerian men and women have the right to be happy and celebrate," Khelif told the press on Friday at a local government office. "This shows that the government and the people support sports."
The Algerians vigorously defended Khelif as he progressed in the Olympic Games, under excessive attention and amidst uninformed speculations about his gender.
Despite being born and raised as a woman, Khelif found herself caught up in a widespread dispute in the West about gender and sports. The controversy erupted following reports that the athlete had not passed a series of unclear and questionable eligibility tests for women's fights in 2023, by the International Boxing Association, an organization currently marginalized from the Olympic movement.
Billionaire Elon Musk, writer J.K. Rowling, and former US president Donald Trump were among those who claimed in social media posts that Khelif was a man. Algerians considered the controversy as an attack against their nation.
On Friday, the residents of Tiaret acknowledged the difficulties that Khelif faced during the Games, and expressed confidence that his success is just the beginning.
“We hope that the authorities support her in victorious moments like this one and also throughout the rest of the year. She has suffered greatly and has started from the bottom,” considered Mohamed Hamou, who was sitting next to Khelif in Tiaret on Friday afternoon.