Amid deeply disturbing scenes on the outskirts of Paris, Italy’s distraught Angela Carini quit her contest with Algeria’s Imane Khelif, who was disqualified from last year’s World Championships after being deemed biologically male.
The defeated welterweight was hit twice, suffered a suspected broken nose and barely threw a punch before telling her corner: ‘It’s not fair.’
She then sank to her knees, beat the canvas in frustration and refused to shake Khelif’s hand. After the lopsided fight ended Carini, 25, said she withdrew because of fears for her own safety. The situation was subsequently slammed by a UN women’s welfare official and Italy’s Prime Minister.
However the IOC hit back at what it called ‘discrimination’, saying Khelif, 25, and Taiwan‘s Lin Yu-ting, who was also disqualified from the New Delhi competition and is due to fight today (FRI), were ‘victims of a sudden and arbitrary decision by the IBA’.
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Olympic bosses have dramatically doubled down on their decision to allow Algeria’s Imane Khelif (in red) to compete
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Khelif (left) won the women’s welterweight bout when Angela Carini (right) abandoned the match after 46 seconds
The IBA were boxing’s governing body who oversaw the World Championships but had their status stripped by the IOC over governance issues and alleged corruption. As a result, the IOC have taken over the running of boxing in the Games and the eligibility rules surrounding it.
Some feel the IOC’s laws are more relaxed and have led to the presence of the previously-banned pair in Paris, but they rejected the notion.
‘They (Khelif and Yu-ting) were suddenly disqualified without any due process,’ the 557-word statement read before adding that, in line with previous Olympics, ‘the gender and age of the athletes are based on their passport’.
‘Every person has the right to practice sport without discrimination,’ the IOC said, before highlighting that its rules were based on the rules the IBA had in place before its forced withdrawal in 2023.
It also attacked ‘misleading information about two female athletes’, adding that the pair ‘have been competing in international boxing competitions for many years in the women’s category.’
The statement highlighted ‘aggression’ against the boxers which it said was ‘based entirely on this arbitrary decision, which was taken without any proper procedure’.
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The Italian boxer dropped to her knees after abandoning and was seen crying in the ring
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The International Olympic Committee, led by president Thomas Bach (pictured), slammed ‘aggression’ and ‘discrimination’ towards ‘biologically male’ boxer
It concluded: ‘Such an approach is contrary to good governance. Eligibility rules should not be changed during ongoing competition, and any rule change must follow appropriate processes and should be based on scientific evidence…The IOC is saddened by the abuse that the two athletes are currently receiving.’
Carini was punched twice by Khelif in the opening round of their women’s welterweight bout in Paris.
The blows appeared to knock off the Italian boxer’s chin strap, with the fighter moving over to her corner.
Carini returned to the center of the ring and abandoned the bout, leading to Khelif being declared as the winner.
The Italian boxer, who claimed before the fight that she could ‘only adapt to the rules of the Olympics‘, was then seen crying in the center of the ring following the abrupt conclusion of the bout.
Carini revealed she quit the fight to ‘safeguard my life,‘ saying, ‘I couldn’t carry on.’
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Carini said ‘I quit to save my life’ clash between the 25-year-old and her Algerian opponent
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Carini yelled ‘this is unjust’ before she fell to canvas and wept having had her Olympic dreams snatched away from her
Speaking after the match, the heartbroken Italian said: ‘I’m used to suffering. I’ve never taken a punch like that, it’s impossible to continue. I’m nobody to say it’s illegal.
‘I got into the ring to fight. But I didn’t feel like it anymore after the first minute. I started to feel a strong pain in my nose. I didn’t give up, but a punch hurt too much and so I said enough. I’m leaving with my head held high.’
She said she did not walk away from the fight as a protest against her opponent’s inclusion, but that was a decision for the Olympics to consider.
Khelif’s participation in the event has been a source of controversy after she was disqualified from the Women’s World Boxing Championships last year.
The Olympics website noted that Khelif had been disqualified hours before a gold medal bout against China’s Yang Liu in New Delhi after her elevated levels of testosterone failed to meet the eligibility criteria.
The Algerian Olympic Committee (COA) hit back by claiming the disqualification was part of a ‘conspiracy’ to stop them from winning a gold medal and said ‘medical reasons’ were behind high testosterone levels.
Lin Yu-Ting of Taiwan was also disqualified from the World Championships.
According to feminist website Reduxx, both are thought both are impacted by a Difference of Sexual Development (DSD), a series of medical conditions identified at birth where genitalia is atypical in relation to chromosomes.
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The Algerian team have hit back at ‘baseless attacks’ against Khelif ahead of the competition
‘They are women’: Olympics supports ‘biologically male’ athletes
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Khelif had also competed at the Tokyo Olympics but was beaten in the early rounds
The IBA stated that neither athlete underwent testosterone exams, but were instead ‘subject to a separate and recognized test’ which were held at their World Championships in 2022 and 2023.
It is claimed the tests ‘conclusively indicated that both athletes did not meet the required necessary eligibility criteria’, with both boxers ‘found to have competitive advantages over other female competitors.’
The Boxing Unit has approved both boxers participation under rules in place for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, which are less strict than the IBA’s.
Both Khelif and Lin Yu-Ting compete in Tokyo, with both losing in the early rounds of their respective events.
