Olympic Boxing Update: Imane Khelif's Controversial Victory
In a brief but intense 46 seconds, Algeria's Imane Khelif faced Italy's Angela Carini in the Olympic ring in Paris. The match ended abruptly when Carini decided to walk away, making an extremely rare decision in Olympic boxing to quit mid-bout.
Carini did not shake Khelif’s hand after the referee declared Khelif the winner, and she sank to her knees in tears. She explained later that severe pain from the initial punches forced her to stop.
“I felt a severe pain in my nose and, with the maturity of a boxer, I said ‘enough,’” Carini explained. “I couldn’t finish the match.”
Khelif, whose participation in the Paris Olympics has sparked controversy due to a previous disqualification from the 2023 world championships over an unspecified gender eligibility test, now moves forward in the competition.
Carini, with a bloodstain on her trunks, clarified that her decision to quit was not a political statement nor a refusal to fight Khelif. She emphasized that she did her job as a boxer to the best of her ability.
“I just did my job as a boxer,” Carini stated. “I entered the ring and fought with my head held high, though heartbroken for not being able to finish.”
Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni visited Carini afterward, offering support and expressing confidence in Carini’s future success.
Khelif, a silver medallist at the 2022 International Boxing Association (IBA) world championships, had been disqualified just before her gold-medal match due to elevated testosterone levels. Despite this, she received cheers from the crowd as she entered the North Paris Arena, though the bout’s sudden end left many spectators puzzled.
Italian coach Emanuele Renzini revealed that he had discussed the match with Carini and gave her the option to back out, but she had been determined to fight.
“My father taught me to be a warrior,” Carini said. “This time, I couldn’t fight anymore and had to end the match.”
Khelif is set to compete against Hungary’s Anna Luca Hamori in the quarterfinals on Saturday. Hamori, who had no reservations about fighting Khelif, confidently stated, “I’m not scared. I don’t care about the press story and social media.”
Hamori and Khelif have not sparred before, but they have participated in the same tournaments. Hamori mentioned she avoids using her phone before fights to stay focused.
The scrutiny surrounding Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, another boxer with eligibility controversies, has intensified. Lin, stripped of her 2022 world championship bronze medal, is set to begin her Olympic journey on Friday against Sitora Turdibekova of Uzbekistan.
The Algerian Olympic Committee condemned the negative media attention on Khelif, calling it “unethical targeting” based on baseless propaganda. Meanwhile, Meloni criticized the inclusion of athletes with “genetically male” characteristics in women’s competitions.
Khelif and Lin, both two-time Olympians, participated in the Tokyo Games. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) defended their right to compete, maintaining gender parity in Olympic boxing for the first time with equal representation of men and women.
The IOC has taken over the management of Olympic boxing in Paris after revoking the IBA’s Olympic status due to governance issues and perceived corruption. The IBA, led by Russian president Umar Kremlev, has faced significant challenges, including losing many members who formed a new group, World Boxing, seeking IOC recognition for the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
The IBA’s recent statement disputed the IOC’s actions, claiming the boxers had not undergone a “testosterone examination” but a different, confidential test. Despite this, the IOC has maintained its stance, upholding the eligibility of both boxers.
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