Sadaf Khadem

Sadaf Khadem in 2019.

Khadem began her athletic career at the age of 9. She was particularly interest in basketball. Watching professional basketball players train in boxing to increase their morale, she began training as well. Her training began in Tehran and subsequently she continued in Varamin despite the long commute from her home. Though she was accepted to college to pursue a sports engineering degree, she eventually dropped out to put full time focus on boxing. Alongside her own training, she held fitness and basketball classes as well.[7]

Mahyar Monshipour became her boxing trainer in 2008 and in 2014 she accepted an official boxing match invitation from France despite opposition from the Ministry of Sports of Iran.[7]

On April 14, 2019, Khadem participated in her first official match in Royan, France. Her opponent Anne Chauvin was a French boxer. Khadem defeated Chauvin at the end of a three-round match with Monshipour as her trainer.[7]

After the match, Khadem embraced her opponent with tears in her eyes. She declared that "this victory belongs to all the men and women who sacrificed their lives for Iran." She further added that "this was the first step."[7]

The prospect of Khadem's match with Chauvin attracted French and other international media attention. The match was broadcast on a dedicated channel as well as several local ones. The match was dubbed by the hosts as "an effort to bring equality among women and men." Following Khadem's victory, the mayor of Royan congratulated Monshipour and Khadem inside the ring.[7]

The Iranian Boxing Federation distanced itself from the match and released a statement reading:

As women's boxing is not a sanctioned sport of the Islamic Republic of Iran Boxing Federation, the organization, training, and participation in this sport is not related to this federation and it is the organizer and participant's responsibilities.[8]

Following the match, Khadem and Monshipour had plans to return to Iran, however, lingering rumors of potential arrest warrants kept them in France. Khadem's representative told Reuters that authorities had issued arrest warrants against her and Monshipour. Hossein Soori, the head of Iran's boxing federation, denied Khadem would be arrested, attributing the information to “media linked to Saudi Arabia”.[9]