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'Bullying can destroy people' - Olympic boxer Imane Khelif tells sntv

Olympic boxer Imane Khelif said the wave of hateful scrutiny she faced over misconceptions about her gender “harms human dignity,” and she called for an end to bullying athletes after being greatly affected by the international backlash against her.

The Algerian athlete spoke about her tumultuous extraordinary Olympic experience on Sunday 4 August in an interview with sntv. “I send a message to all the people of the world to uphold the Olympic principles and the Olympic Charter, to refrain from bullying all athletes, because this has effects, massive effects,” Khelif said.

Khelif also expressed gratitude to the International Olympic Committee and its president, Thomas Bach, for standing resolutely behind her while the banned former governing body of Olympic boxing stoked a furor around her participation in Paris.

Khelif has already clinched her first Olympic medal with two victories in Paris amid calls for her ouster from the Games on the basis of misconceptions about her gender. With the same tough streak that defines her ring style, Khelif repeatedly made clear she won't allow chatter or accusations to deter her from attempting to claim Algeria's first Olympic gold medal in women's boxing.

She had competed in IBA events for several years without problems until she was abruptly suspended from last year's world championships. The Russian-dominated body — which has faced years of clashes with the IOC — has refused to provide any information about the tests. Algeria’s national boxing federation is still a member of the IBA.

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