Published on: Aug 22, 2025 08:57 am IST
Imane Khelif’s former manager Nasser Yesfah recently spread fake retirement rumours about the Algerian boxer.
Recently, Imane Khelif’s former manager, Nasser Yesfah, revealed in an interview that the Olympic champion had ‘left the world of boxing’, which fuelled retirement rumours. Then, a few hours later, Yesfah had another interview with the same newspaper and claimed that he was only talking about her boxing commitments in the city of Nice, where she previously represented Nice Azur club.
Khelif responded to those claims on Facebook on Wednesday and slammed her former manager. She wrote, “It is based solely on statements made by a person who no longer represents me in any way, and whom I consider to have betrayed my trust and my country with his false and malicious statements.”
“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.
“The publication of such rumours is intended solely to disrupt and damage my sporting and professional career,” she added.
She was expected to participate in the World Boxing tournament in June, but skipped it after the governing body initially announced its plans to introduce sex testing for all boxers in its competitions. Later on, World Boxing president Boris van der Vorst apologised after naming Khalif in their announcement on mandatory sex testing.
Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting were in the spotlight at the Paris Olympics last year, where their eligibility was put in the spotlight, as they had been disqualified for the 2023 World C’ships. The IBA had disqualified them, citing that sex chromosome tests had ruled them ineligible.
Regarding the mandatory testing, World Boxing said in a statement, “The introduction of mandatory testing will be part of a new policy on ‘Sex, Age and Weight’ to ensure the safety of all participants and deliver a competitive level playing field for men and women.”
“The fighters’ national federations will be responsible for administering the tests and providing the results to World Boxing.
“Imane Khelif may not compete in the female category at the Eindhoven Box Cup or in any World Boxing event until Imane Khelif undergoes genetic screening in accordance with World Boxing’s rules and testing procedures,” it further added.
