Another Algerian account posted: “Imane Khelif broke down in tears after her victory over Luca Hamori. The harassment she has suffered is just shameful. But don’t cry Imane, millions of people are with you.”
The support and praise was not limited to the general public either, with Algerian president Abdelmadjid Tebboune throwing his weight behind her Olympic cause and adding that she has honoured “Algerian women” along with the nation as a whole.
“Congratulations Imane Khalif, you have honoured Algeria, Algerian women and Algerian boxing,” President Tebboune said on X. “We will stand by you no matter what your results are. Good luck in the next two rounds, and forward Imane Khelif. Long live Algeria.”
There were also gatherings among France-based Algerians at the Paris Arena, where the boxing competition is being held, to show support for Khelif in the face of unrelenting criticism and an unprecedented campaign against her participation as a woman.
The support from back home in Algeria, Africa’s largest country, has seen citizens of all ages and from all backgrounds displaying their support for this young boxer, who hails from a conservative family. In television reports and on social networks, one after another told her to be proud and brave of her achievements.
The image of her father, Omar Khelif, who is unemployed and has been forced to justify his daughter’s status as a woman by showing her childhood photos and birth certificate to journalists, has irritated and even shocked many people.