The Italian boxer Angela Carini broke down in tears after she abandoned her bout against the Algerian Imane Khelif after 46 seconds in a fight that sparked huge controversy at the Olympics.
Khelif is one of two boxers permitted to fight at the Olympics despite being disqualified from the women’s world championships last year for failing gender eligibility tests.
In highly charged scenes at the North Paris Arena, a first punch from Khelif dislodged Carini’s chinstrap and a second smashed against her chin and bloodied her shorts. After multiple punches Carini returned to her corner and raised her hand. She fell to her knees sobbing and refused to shake Khelif’s hand after the Algerian was declared the winner.
Carini said she had pulled out after being hit harder than she had ever been hit and feared her nose was broken. “I am heartbroken,” Carini said. “I went to the ring to honour my father. I was told a lot of times that I was a warrior but I preferred to stop for my health. I have never felt a punch like this.”
The 25-year-old, from Naples, added: “I got into the ring to fight. I didn’t give up, but one punch hurt too much and so I said enough. I’m going out with my head held high.
“After the second punch, after years of experience, I felt a strong pain in the nose. I said enough, because I didn’t want. I couldn’t finish the fight after the punch to the nose. So it was better to put an end to it.
“I am in pieces because I am a fighter, they taught me to be a warrior. I have always tried to behave with honour, I have always represented my country with loyalty. This time I didn’t manage to because I couldn’t fight any more. Regardless of the person I had in front, of me, which doesn’t interest me, regardless of all the row, I just wanted to win. I wanted to face the person that I had in front of me and to fight.”
Asked if it would have been better to pull out beforehand, Carini said: “I am not one that gives in easily. No, even if they had said that we wouldn’t fight, I would never have accepted it. I have a warrior’s mentality. This time I didn’t manage. I felt too much pain on my nose. I said enough.
“It’s not a defeat for me – for me if you go in the ring you have already won, regardless of everything else. I’m not here to judge. It’s not up to me to say if it’s fair or not fair. I just did my job. I managed to leave with my head held high. I’m a mature woman; when I feel I cannot continue, its not giving in, it’s having the dignity to say enough. I was convinced I would win, I was concentrated, serene. But these punches to the nose hurt, I said enough.”
Carini said it was “not up to me to judge” whether Khelif should have been barred from the competition. “I did my job.”
Khelif stopped briefly to speak to the BBC: “I am here for gold,” the Algerian said. “I will fight anybody, I will fight them all.”
Reem Alsalem, the UN special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, expressed her concern about what had happened. “Angela Carini rightly followed her instincts and prioritised her physical safety, but she and other female athletes should not have been exposed to this physical and psychological violence based on their sex,” she tweeted.
Giorgia Meloni, the Italian prime minister, weighed in, saying: “I think that athletes who have male genetic characteristics should not be admitted to women’s competitions … from my point of view it was not an even contest.”
Before the fight The International Olympic Committee (IOC) came under fire for permitting Khelif and Lin Yu‑ting of Taiwan to compete in the women’s category at these Games. Lin is due to face Uzbekistan’s Sitora Turdibekova in a featherweight bout in Paris on Friday.
Last year both fighters were disqualified from the world championships, with the International Boxing Association (IBA) president, Umar Kremlev, saying that DNA tests had “proved they had XY chromosomes and were thus excluded”. XY is the combination of chromosomes in males, while XX is the combination in females, with exceptions where rare conditions are present.
But last night the IOC issued a statement that confirmed that said both boxers had “complied” with its entry regulations and “have been competing in international boxing competitions for many years in the women’s category”.
“As with previous Olympic boxing competitions, the gender and age of the athletes are based on their passport,” it added.
The IOC also accused the IBA of changing its gender rules in the middle of the 2023 world championships. “The current aggression against these two athletes is based entirely on this arbitrary decision, which was taken without any proper procedure – especially considering that these athletes had been competing in top-level competition for many years,” it said. “Such an approach is contrary to good governance.”
However, concerns have been raised among the boxing and wider sporting community. On Wednesday Australia’s boxing captain Caitlin Parker expressed her fears that one of her teammates is fighting in the same 66kg weight category as Khelif. “I don’t agree with them being allowed to compete in sport, especially combat sports,” Parker said. “It can be incredibly dangerous.”
Agence France-Presse reported that Khelif claimed to be the victim of a “big conspiracy” after being disqualified just before the final at last year’s world championships.
The Algerian Olympic Committee (COA) said on Wednesday it “strongly condemns the unethical targeting and maligning of our esteemed athlete, Imane Khelif, with baseless propaganda “from certain foreign media outlets”, adding: “Such attacks on her personality and dignity are deeply unfair, especially as she prepares for the pinnacle of her career at the Olympics. The COA has taken all necessary measures to protect our champion.”
Luca Anna Hamori, a Hungarian boxer who is due to face Khelif in the next round, said she was prepared. “I will go to the ring and I will get my win. I trust my coaches and I trust myself.”
• This article was amended on 14 August 2024 to reflect there are exceptions to XY and XX chromosome combinations where rare conditions are present.
