Imane Khelif's coach fumes at 'bullies' in empassioned rant at camera after Algerian's win at Olympics
Imane Khelif's coach celebrated to the camera
BBC
Imane Khelif's coach hit out at the 'bullies' who have targeted the Algerian boxer after she progressed to the semi-finals of the Paris Olympics.
Khelif's involvement in the Olympics this year has caused headline news around the world following the International Boxing Association's (IBA) decision to disqualify her from last year's world championships.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) dismissed the ruling from the IBA and have repeatedly stated declared Khelif is eligible to compete in the women's category.
Despite the IOC's statements, Khelif faced heavy backlash and abuse online following her win over Angela Carini earlier this week.
Imane Khelif's coach celebrated to the camera
BBC
That led to a highly-charged atmosphere for her quarter-final bout against Hungarian Luca Hamori on Saturday.
Algerian fans packed out the arena and Khelif was given a rousing reception as she walked out to the ring.
Khelif dominated the contest from the very start and even a point penalty in the final round couldn't stop her from a unanimous win.
Both fighters shook hands in the ring in a sign of respect after the fight before Khelif was overcome with emotion.
She was in floods of tears as she approached her team at the side of the ring, who pulled her in close.
One of her coaches then turned to the camera and screamed 'they bullied her' and 'long live Algeria'.
Khelif is now guaranteed a medal after reaching the semi-finals of the 66kgs category.
She will face Thailand's Janjaem Suwannapheng for a place in the gold-medal match on Tuesday evening.
Imane Khelif let out all her emotions after the fight
GETTY
Lin Yu-ting, the other boxer who's involvement in Paris has proven controversial, will face Svetlana Staneva in her 57kg quarter-final on Sunday morning.
IOC president Thomas Bach has launched to the defence of both fighters and hit out at the 'hate speech' they've faced.
"What we see now is that some want to own the definition of who is a woman," Bach said.
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Imane Khelif is now guaranteed a medal
GETTY
"There I can only invite them to come up with a scientific-based, new definition of who is a woman and how can somebody being born, raised, competed and having a passport as a woman cannot be considered a woman.
"If they are coming up with something, we are ready to listen, we are ready to look into it, but we will not take part in a sometimes politically-motivated, cultural war.
"Allow me to say that what is going on in this context in social media with all this hate speech, with this aggression and abuse fuelled by this agenda is totally unacceptable."