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UFC veteran Jake Shields accused Imane Khelif of intentionally grabbing her opponent's chest at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Over the past month, Khelif has been one of the most controversial talking points in the Olympics. The Algerian boxer competed in the women's featherweight division and won gold with four consecutive wins, including one by TKO.
Khelif has received backlash throughout her run as many people accused her of being transgender. Instead, the 25-year-old was born with a rare condition called Differences of Sex Development, meaning she was born a female with some features typically seen amongst males.
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Following her first win against Italy's Angela Carini, Khelif walked past her opponent and patted her on the chest. One person on Twitter posted the video and had this to say about the Algerian boxer:
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"Yep. He’s a man. And a disrespectful one at that."
Former UFC fighter Jake Shields re-posted the footage on Twitter and accused Imane Khelif of being a man who made an inappropriate gesture:
"The guy even grabbed the girls tits after beating her up"
Imane Khelif's gold medal run in the 2024 Paris Olympics
On August 1, Imane Khelif fought at the 2024 Paris Olympics for the first time. Less than a minute into the fight, Italy's Angela Carini forfeited the matchup and awarded Khelif a first-round TKO win.
The shocking scene highlighted Khelif's controversial background, leading to overwhelming backlash. Since then, people worldwide have debated if the Algerian boxer should be able to fight in the Olympic women's divisions.
Khelif remained focused on her goal and defeated Hungary's Luca Anna Hamori and Thailand's Janjaem Suwannapheng to qualify for the finals.
On Friday, August 9, Khelif made her dreams a reality by defeating China's Yang Liu by unanimous decision for a gold medal. Following the matchup, Liu showcased her honorable sportsmanship by embracing her opponent with a smile, countering the negative attention plaguing the result.
It should be noted that Khelif isn't the only fighter to experience backlash in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Taiwan's Lin Yu-Ting, who was also born with DSD, won a gold medal in the women's featherweight division.
