PARIS, France – Algerian Imane Khelif‘s much-anticipated Paris Olympics women’s 66kg fight against Angela Carini in the round of 16 on Thursday, August 1, lasted 46 seconds after the Italian stopped following a powerful punch to the nose.
The 25-year-old Khelif has been in the spotlight since being disqualified before a gold-medal match in the 2023 World Championships for failing International Boxing Association (IBA) eligibility rules that prevent athletes with XY chromosomes competing in women’s events.
She was ruled eligible, however, to compete in Paris, a competition run by the International Olympic Committee after the Olympic body stripped the IBA of international recognition last year over issues related to governance and finance.
Khelif entered the packed North Paris Arena amid loud cheers from fans waving Algeria flags, and the Italian was instantly no match for her opponent’s speed and longer reach.
“First, I thank all the Algerian people, after this first victory,” Khelif said. “I hope to achieve a second victory to secure a medal, and then think about the gold medal.”
“I tell the Algerian people that I am working to provide the best I can in order to make them happy.”
She landed four blows in the first 10 seconds and several more before Carini, who is six centimeters shorter than her opponent, went to her coach after 30 seconds to fix her headgear.
Carini briefly resumed the fight but could not stop Khelif landing another big punch to the face and the Italian lifted her hand and returned to her corner before her coach signalled she was pulling out.
“I have always honored my country with loyalty,” Carini said with tears in her eyes. “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.”
“You all saw my nose that started bleeding. I didn’t lose tonight, I just surrendered with maturity. I am a mature woman, the ring is my life.”
“I’ve always been very instinctive, but when I feel something is not going well, it’s not a surrender but having the maturity to stop.”
Carini wept while talking to reporters before being taken away.
Some sports have limited the levels of testosterone allowed for athletes competing in women’s competition, while others ban everyone who has been through male puberty.
Boxing is run by the IOC after the IBA’s recognition was stripped, and it has not updated eligibility rules but used those applied in previous Olympics.
The IOC has cleared the way for Khelif as well as Taiwan’s double world champion Lin Yu-ting, who lost her bronze medal in last year’s World Championships after she failed to meet the criteria for the same reason, to compete at the Games.
“What I would say is that this involves real people and we are talking about real people’s lives here,” IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said on Thursday.
“They have competed and they continue to compete in the women’s competition. They have lost and they have won against other women over the years.”
The IOC decision caused a stir before the Games with some warning of safety concerns for the boxers’ opponents.
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Carini’s bout against Khelif was not a fight among equals.
“I think that athletes who have male genetic characteristics should not be admitted to women’s competitions,” Meloni said.
“And not because you want to discriminate against someone, but to protect the right of female athletes to be able to compete on equal terms.”
“I regret it even more (the pullout),” Meloni was quoted as saying by Italian news agency ANSA. “I was emotional yesterday when she wrote, ‘I will fight,’ because the dedication, the head, the character, surely also play a role in these things.
“But then it also matters to be able to compete on equal grounds, and from my point of view, it was not an even contest.”
Lin will face Uzbekistan’s Sitora Turdibekova in a featherweight bout in Paris on Friday, August 2. – Rappler.com
