Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, who failed a gender eligibility test last year, pummelled her Italian opponent in 46 seconds at the Paris Olympics on Thursday to spark an angry reaction from Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
A distraught and hurt Angela Carini shrugged off attempts by the Algerian to shake her hand and collapsed to her knees and sobbed before breaking into tears again in front of dozens of reporters.
Khelif advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s 66kg category after unloading two strong punches on Carini, who had blood on her shorts and was unable to carry on because of a badly hurt nose.
“I have a big pain in my nose and I said, ‘Stop’. It’s better to avoid keeping going. My nose started dripping (with blood) from the first hit.”
The 25-year-old added: “I fought very often in the national team. I train with my brother. I’ve always fought against men, but I felt too much pain today.”
Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, who fights on Friday at 57kg, were disqualified from the world championships last year but deemed eligible to box in the women’s competition in Paris.
The IOC website for accredited media in Paris said that the 25-year-old Khelif was disqualified after “elevated levels of testosterone failed to meet the eligibility criteria”.
Both boxed in the women’s event at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago.
As the controversy threatened to overshadow the sixth day of the Games, Meloni denounced a fight that was “not on an equal footing.”
“I do not agree with the IOC,” she said.
“I think that athletes who have male genetic characteristics should not be admitted to women’s competitions,” she said during a meeting with Italian athletes in Paris, according to a video she posted on X.
Khelif, who came fifth in Tokyo, was given a huge roar when she came into the North Paris Arena, where there were numerous Algeria fans with the country’s flag.
Before and during the very brief bout they chanted her name, but the action itself was over in a flash.
Explaining why she dropped to her knees and was so tearful, Carini said: “It’s for my father. I am sorry not to have taken Italy on to the podium.”
“I’m going out with my head held high,” she added.
– ‘Lies’ –
Earlier Thursday, Algeria’s Olympic Committee (COA) condemned what it called “malicious and unethical attacks directed against our distinguished athlete, Imane Khelif, by certain foreign media”.
The COA hit out at “lies” that were “completely unfair”.
Khelif and Lin were disqualified from the 2023 world championships in New Delhi, which was run by the International Boxing Association (IBA).
Lin was stripped of her bronze medal after undergoing “biochemical” tests mandated by the IBA.
However, the International Olympic Committee is running the boxing in the French capital because of governance, financial and ethical issues at the IBA.
IOC spokesman Mark Adams told reporters this week: “Everyone competing in the women’s category… is complying with competition eligibility rules.
“They are women in their passports and it’s stated in there that they are female.”
At least one woman boxer at the Games has spoken out about the controversy.
Australia’s Caitlin Parker is in the 75kg weight class 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.
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