Imane Khelif has hit out at “enemies of success” and those who don’t believe she is a woman after her bid for gold at the Paris 2024 Olympics over a gender dispute.

Khelif beat Yang Liu to win the women’s welterweight tournament in Paris, becoming the first Algerian woman to win boxing gold at the Olympics.

The 25-year-old was disqualified from the women’s world championships by the IBA after allegedly failing a gender test.

Khelif said that by winning gold she sent a message to the IBA, which is no longer recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), that she still had “dignity and honour” for her success.

She added: “It’s every athlete’s dream. I competed in Tokyo but I wasn’t prepared; It was during the Covid period, it was a very difficult time.

“But in Paris, the whole world, Algerians, everyone knows how hard I worked. I trained in (the United States), especially for the Olympics, with a great coach – Pedro Diaz, he has 21 Olympic medals, today he has 22 medals, he deserves this medal too.

“Whether I am qualified or not, whether I am a woman or not: I have made many statements in the media, I am absolutely qualified, I am a woman, I was born a woman, I have lived as a woman. There is no doubt about that.

“These people (who claim that I am not) are the enemies of success. That is what I call them. That gives my success a special flavor because of these attacks.

Imane Khelif (left) with her Olympic welterweight medallist teammates
“My honour is still intact, but the attacks on social media were extremely bad and pointless. They hit people’s dignity, people’s thinking has changed now.

“About the IBA: since 2018, I have been boxing under the auspices of the IBA, they know me very well. They know what I can do, how I have developed over the years. But now they are no longer recognised and they hate me, and I don’t know why. I sent them a message with this gold medal – and my dignity and honour come first.

Algerian Imane Khelif celebrates her Olympic gold medal win (PA)
“Algerian women are known for their strength and strong will, they are very brave and they came to support me. They also sent a message to the Arab world. They sent the message that our honor comes first.”