Algerian boxer Imane Khelif advanced past Angela Carini when the Italian abandoned their controversial women’s 66kg Round of 16 bout in the North Paris Arena in Paris on Thursday.
All it took was 46 seconds into the first round for Carini to make the decision that ended her campaign in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
Khelif has been in the spotlight since being disqualified from the gold medal match at the 2023 World Championships in New Delhi after failing to pass gender eligibility tests. Khelif had even been disqualified by the the International Boxing Association or the IBA.
Along with Khelif, Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yu Ting has also faced significant backlash from several high-profile boxers.
Background
While Khelif was disqualified hours before her gold medal bout against Yang Liu of China at the World Championships after she failed the gender eligibility tests, Lin was stripped of her bronze medal after failing to meet eligibility requirements based on the results of a biochemical test.
This marked the first time a Chinese Taipei athlete had been required to take a biochemical test for gender eligibility since the IBA implemented the new testing method.
During the World Championships last year, the IBA President Umar Kremlev had stated: “Based on DNA tests, we identified a number of athletes who tried to trick their colleagues into posing as women.
“According to the results of the tests, it was proved that they have XY chromosomes. Such athletes were excluded from competition.”
The Olympic boxing competition in Paris is being overseen by the International Olympic Committee and not the IBA.
As a result, the IOC had confirmed on Tuesday that it was allowing both fighters to compete in their respective women’s 66kg and women’s 57kg events under the less strict gender eligibility rules that were in place for the Tokyo Games in 2021.
In the ring
During the bout, Carini, six centimeters shorter than Khelif, went to her coach after 30 seconds to fix her headgear but after briefly resuming the fight, she returned to her corner and asked for the bout to be stopped.
After the match was stopped, the referee raised Khelif's hand in the air. However, a furious Carini yanked her hand away from the official before exiting the ring without shaking her opponent's hand.
The Italian boxer was seen dropping to her knees and burst into tears, saying she had never felt such strong blows in a bout before.
“I have always honoured my country with loyalty,” a tearful Carini said, as reported by Reuters. “This time I didn’t succeed because I couldn’t fight anymore.
“I put an end to the match because after the second blow, after years of experience in the ring and a life of fighting, I felt a strong pain in my nose. I said ‘that's enough’ because... I could not bring the match to an end. So I thought, maybe it’s better to put an end to the match.”
Australia’s Caitlin Parker is in the 75kg weight class and so will not face Khelif or Lin, but she made her stance on the controversy clear.
“I don’t agree with that being allowed, especially in combat sports as it can be incredibly dangerous,” she said, as reported by AFP.
While Carini had qualified for the Paris Games through the first Olympic qualification tournament on home soil in Busto Arsizio, Khelif had qualified for the Paris Games through the respective African Olympic qualification tournaments.
Lin, meanwhile, will be in action on Friday in the 57kg Round of 16 against Uzbekistan’s Sitora Turdibekova.
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