‘Why Aren’t Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps Banned?’: Taapsee Pannu Speaks Out on Imane Khelif Gender Row

Imane Khelif, an Algerian boxer, overcame great challenges to win an Olympic gold medal in 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. 25-year-old, who stood 1.79 meters tall, became well-known throughout event. Originating from a little village about 300 km away from Algiers, Khelif's story surprised everyone by becoming a surprise hero in Paris Olympics. In women's 66-kg division, Khelif me a huge difference in Olympic medal rankings by winning gold over Yang Liu of China in a nail-biting final match. 

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Taapsee Pannu opines her view on Imane Khelif’s controversy at Paris Olympics 2024

Before se competitions, 25-year-old Imane Khelif was expelled from women's World Championships by International Boxing Association (IBA) for apparently failing a gender eligibility test. Notwithstanding this, International Olympic Committee (IOC) let her keep competing in Olympics where she recently earned Olympic gold in welterweight boxing. Speaking out in favour of Khelif during a recent interview, actress Taapsee Pannu dressed gender debate around Algerian boxer.

Taapsee defended Khelif by pointing out, citing American swimmer Michael Phelps and Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt as examples, that certain athletes inherently have a biological edge over ors. Taapsee Pannu said in her interview with news agency ANI:

"I played a role on that subject. I did a film called Rashmi Rocket which was about a female athlete being banned due to high level of testosterone. We presented our views and that is why I think beauty of kind of films I get is that I get my films to talk about issues I personally believe in inste of making a specific statement about it."

“Our argument in film was that re are so many athletes who are born with an edge over ors. Like Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps, all of m were born with a certain biological edge over ors. Why are y not banned? If she has taken injections or something that is illegal, n of course she should be banned. But if she has not, n why should she be banned?”

Saying y harassed her online due to gender discussion at 2024 Olympics in Paris, recently Khelif sued numerous individuals, including Elon Musk and J.K. Rowling.