Paris: Italian boxer Angela Carini abandoned after just 46 seconds her bout with Algerian Imane Khelif in the women’s 66kg round of 16 match in the Paris Olympics on Thursday. Carini quit the match as her opponent had earlier failed a gender eligibility test. Carini broke down in tears and didn’t even shake hands with her opponent after the referee raised Khelif’s arm as she progressed to the quarterfinals. She was also heard saying, “It’s not right.”
Khelif, one of only two athletes, with elevated testosterone levels cleared to compete in women’s boxing at the Paris 2024 Olympics, had been disqualified from last year’s Women’s World Championships in India for failing to meet eligibility requirements.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC), which oversees the boxing events in Paris but was not responsible for the World Championships, said welterweight Khelif was disqualified in India because of elevated testosterone levels.
With a bye in the first round at the Olympics, the 25-year-old, who also competed at the Tokyo Games, entered Arena Paris Nord on Thursday to a warm reception from the many Algerian fans in attendance.
After taking a punch to the face within the first 30 seconds of the match, Carini went to her corner for her coach to adjust her headgear. She briefly resumed the fight but then returned to her corner and decided to stop the match.
Carini said she feared it could have been the match of a lifetime for her and was not able to continue in the ring.
“I wasn’t able to finish the match, I felt a strong pain in my nose and I said (to myself) for the experience that I have and the maturity as a woman that I have, I said I hope my nation won’t take it badly, I hope my dad won’t take it badly – but I stopped, I said stop for myself,” BBC quoted Carini as saying after the match. “It could have been the match of a lifetime, but I had to preserve my life as well in that moment. I didn’t have fear, I don’t fear the ring. I don’t fear taking the blows. But this time there’s an end to everything, and I put an end to this match because I wasn’t able to (continue),” she added.
On Khelif, Carini told reporters: “I wish her to carry on until the end and that she can be happy. I am someone who doesn’t judge anyone. I am not here to give judgements.”
On the other hand, Khelif said, “I’m here for the gold – I fight everybody.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Algeria’s Olympic Committee condemned “baseless” attacks on Khelif.
Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting will compete in a fight in Paris on Friday. She too was disqualified from the World Championships last year after failing a gender eligibility test.
The IOC said all boxers in Paris “comply with the competition’s eligibility and entry regulations”. “These athletes have competed many times before for many years, they haven’t just suddenly arrived – they competed in Tokyo,” the IOC spokesman Mark Adams said on Tuesday.
