Paris Olympic champion Imane Khelif has denied claims by her former manager that she will end her boxing career, saying she continues to train regularly.

The Algerian and Taiwan's Lin Yu-ting entered the spotlight at the Games in the French capital last summer for their inclusion in the Olympic boxing tournament after the International Boxing Association (IBA) disqualified them from the 2023 World Championships. It justified its decision to exclude them by citing the sex tests of the two competitors.

However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) allowed them to compete in Paris, and both became champions in their categories. Lin even controversially defeated one of Bulgaria's representatives, Svetlana Kamenova.

Khelif has not participated in a tournament since her gold medal at the Summer Olympics.

In an interview with the French newspaper Nice-Matin, the boxer's former manager, Nasser Yesfah, said that she had "left the world of boxing." A few hours later, Yesfah gave another interview to the newspaper, in which he clarified that he was only talking about Khelif's commitments in Nice, where she was previously part of a boxing club.

The Algerian's reaction was not long in coming, and she criticized Yesfah in a post on social media. "This is based on allegations from a person who no longer represents me in any way, and who I believe has betrayed me and my country with false statements. I have never announced my retirement from the sport. I remain committed to my boxing career, I train regularly and maintain my physical fitness between Algeria and Qatar in preparation for upcoming events. Such allegations and rumors only aim to harm my sporting and professional career," Khelif wrote on Facebook.

She was scheduled to compete in a tournament in the Netherlands in June, but opted to skip it shortly after the International Association initially announced its intention to introduce sex tests for all boxers in its tournaments. The governing body’s president, Boris van der Vorst, later apologized after Khelif’s name was mentioned in the announcement about mandatory gender tests, acknowledging that her privacy had to be protected.

Khelif, 26, has repeatedly said she was born a woman and has a long history in women’s boxing. In March, she announced that she would defend her Olympic title at the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles. | BGNES