Olympic boxing champion Imane Khelif has firmly denied speculation that she has retired from the sport, insisting she is still training and preparing for future competitions.
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The 26-year-old Algerian, who won gold at the Paris Games last year, was forced to respond after her former manager, Nasser Yesfah, told French newspaper Nice-Matin that she had “left the world of boxing.” Hours later, Yesfah clarified his remarks, saying he was only referring to her departure from her former club in Nice.
Khelif criticised her ex-manager’s comments, calling them “false and malicious” in a Facebook post. “I have never announced my retirement from boxing. I remain committed to my sporting career, training regularly and maintaining my physical fitness between Algeria and Qatar in preparation for upcoming events,” she wrote. “The publication of such rumours is intended solely to disrupt and damage my sporting and professional career.”
Khelif has not competed since her Olympic triumph but continues to make headlines following controversy over sex eligibility testing. Alongside Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, she was disqualified from the 2023 World Championships by the International Boxing Association (IBA) but later cleared by the International Olympic Committee to compete in Paris, where both won gold.
She was set to compete in a World Boxing event in the Netherlands in June but withdrew after the governing body announced plans to introduce mandatory sex testing for all boxers. World Boxing later issued an apology after publicly naming her in the announcement, admitting her privacy should have been protected.
Khelif has repeatedly stressed that she was born a woman and has built her career entirely in women’s boxing. Earlier this year, she declared her intention to defend her Olympic title at the 2028 Los Angeles Games, reaffirming her long-term commitment to the sport.
