PARIS (AP) — Crowds of women have flocked to Imane Khelif’s fights during the Paris Olympics to support the Algerian boxer who is facing online abuse. Misconceptions about their gender.

Hours before Khelif fought for a gold medal On Friday night, women draped in Algerian flags arrived at Roland Garros for the women’s welterweight bout, many of them with no interest in boxing, but their only goal was to support the 25-year-old boxer who has been drawn into a global conflict over gender identity and regulation in the sport.

“I am overjoyed that she came here and I am here to support her because she needs it and she needs the support of women,” says Sarah Dayan, sitting on a bench hung with small Algerian flags.

Khelif and fellow boxer Lin Yu-ting from Taiwan have been under intense scrutiny by those who argued for their disqualification from last year’s World Championships. The Olympic Games banned International Boxing Association claimed that the two fighters had failed unspecified eligibility tests for women’s competitions.

The International Olympic Committee described the arbitrary gender tests imposed on the two boxers by the sport’s governing body as irretrievably faulty and has defended both boxers since the start of the Games in Paris.

The situation is reflective or historical mistreatment of colored female athletes, Because they face disproportionate scrutiny and discrimination related to gender testing and false claims that they are male or transgender, experts say.

“People are so afraid of strong women,” said Dayan, who didn’t know who Khelif was before the Olympics began but followed the reaction against her online. “People are so afraid of strong women of color. And I think it’s so beautiful that she’s here and she’s fighting her way through. And she’s going to win.”

Khelif will win either a gold or silver medal when she faces China’s Yang Liu in the final on Friday.

Khelif has not lost a round She finished with the highest score on the judges’ scorecard in her first three fights in Paris, producing the most dominant run of her boxing career since her first opponent, Italian Angela Carini, stopped the fight after just 46 seconds because she was in too much pain from Khelif’s punches.

Lisa Belabed, who lives in Paris and has Algerian roots, called Khelif inspiring.

“A week ago, I didn’t know anything about boxing,” said Belabed, who was wearing a white shirt with the boxer’s face on it. “But I’m here because of what happened to Imane Khelif. I think what happened to her – like all the media hype – is really unfair and unjustified. I think she was made a scapegoat for something really political when she was just trying to play sport.”

The only events at the Paris Olympics that Belabed has attended are Khelif’s. She watched Khelif beat Janjaem Suwannapheng of Thailand 5-0 in the semifinals on Tuesday and was back for the final to cheer on a fellow Algerian.

“I think what happened to her is both sexist and racist,” said Belabed. “My parents are from Algeria and I grew up in France. I think Algerian women and people from the North African diaspora are used to being told that they don’t fit European beauty standards. And so what happened to her is quite understandable, even if it happened to her on a large scale.”

___

AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games