Imane Khelif of Algeria progressed in her Olympic boxing journey on Thursday when her opponent, Italy's Angela Carini, quit just 46 seconds into their bout. The sudden and unusual ending occurred after a brief exchange of punches, with Carini walking away and abandoning the fight, citing extremely intense pain in her nose.
Khelif, who has faced controversy over gender eligibility issues, did not comment after the match. Her presence at the Paris Olympics has been divisive since she was disqualified from the 2023 world championships for failing a gender eligibility test. Carini's abrupt exit left the audience at the North Paris Arena confused, as the Italian boxer did not shake Khelif's hand post-match and was visibly emotional.
Carini later explained that her decision to quit was not politically motivated but due to severe pain after the opening punches.
"I felt a severe pain in my nose, and with the maturity of a boxer, I said ‘enough’," Carini stated.
Khelif, a silver medalist at the 2022 world championships, has received significant scrutiny along with Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting, both of whom have faced gender eligibility controversies. The Algerian Olympic Committee recently condemned what it called "baseless propaganda" against Khelif from certain media outlets. Despite the controversy, Khelif is scheduled to fight again on Saturday.
The broader issue of gender eligibility in sports has been highlighted by Khelif's and Lin's cases, with various sports organizations updating their rules in recent years. The International Olympic Committee has defended their right to compete, stating that all athletes comply with competition eligibility rules. This year marks the first time Olympic boxing has achieved gender parity, with an equal number of male and female competitors.
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Image Credit: Reuters