{"id":2295,"date":"2024-08-02T10:40:02","date_gmt":"2024-08-02T10:40:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=2295"},"modified":"2024-08-02T10:40:02","modified_gmt":"2024-08-02T10:40:02","slug":"imane-khelif-boxer-in-middle-of-olympics-gender-storm-forces-tearful-first-opponent-to-quit-46-seconds-into-fight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=2295","title":{"rendered":"Imane Khelif, boxer in middle of Olympics gender storm, forces tearful first opponent to quit 46 seconds into fight"},"content":{"rendered":"

Imane Khelif, an Algerian boxer who failed gender eligibility tests in 2023 yet was nonetheless allowed to compete as a woman at this year\u2019s Olympics, hit her first-round opponent so hard that she withdrew in just 46 seconds.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is unjust,\u201d Angela Carini of Italy said after falling to her knees and slamming her headgear to the canvas.<\/p>\n

Carini and Khelif exchanged only a few punches before Carini walked away and abandoned the bout, an extremely unusual occurrence in Olympic boxing.<\/p>\n

Carini refused a handshake from Khelif and then ripped her hand away from the ref as Khelif\u2019s was raised as the winner.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Algeria\u2019s Imane Khelif (left) gestures to Italy\u2019s Angela Carini after their fight on Aug. 1, 2024.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Imane Khelif was not allowed to box in the world championships.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m used to suffering,\u201d Carini said after the fight when she spoke to reporters for 20 minutes through tears.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never taken a punch like that, it\u2019s impossible to continue. I\u2019m nobody to say it\u2019s illegal.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got into the ring to fight. But I didn\u2019t feel like it anymore after the first minute. I started to feel a strong pain in my nose. I didn\u2019t give up, but a punch hurt too much and so I said enough. I\u2019m leaving with my head held high.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Don\u2019t go, it\u2019s a man\u2019<\/p>\n

Carini\u2019s coach, Emanuel Renzini, told reporters that he was unsure if the boxer\u2019s nose was broken and that\u00a0she had been warned not to take the fight<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Algeria\u2019s Imane Khelif (left) and Italy\u2019s Angela Carini leave after their women\u2019s 66kg preliminaries round of 16 boxing match.AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cMany people in Italy tried to call and tell her: \u2018Don\u2019t go please. It\u2019s a man, it\u2019s dangerous for you,\u2019\u2009\u201d Renzini said.<\/p>\n

Before the Olympics, the International Olympic Committee\u00a0defended the decision<\/a>\u00a0to let Khelif, 25, and Taiwan\u2019s Lin Yu-ting into the competition after both had been disqualified from the world championships.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll athletes participating in the boxing tournament of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 comply with the competition\u2019s eligibility and entry regulations, as well as all applicable medical regulations,\u201d the IOC said in a statement prior to the Games.
\nBoth had competed in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and failed to medal.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Angela Carini\u2019s corner calls off the fight.AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI\u2019m here for the gold,\u201d Khelif\u00a0told BBC Sport<\/a>. \u201cI fight everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

The different status of Lin and Khelif at the Olympics and world championships is fallout from the years-long dispute\u00a0between the IOC and the Russian-led International Boxing Association<\/a>\u00a0over alleged failures of governance and integrity, plus reliance on funding from state energy firm Gazprom.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone competing in the women\u2019s category is complying with the competition eligibility rules,\u201d IOC spokesman Mark Adams said. \u201cThey are women in their passports and it\u2019s stated that this is the case, that they are female.\u201d<\/p>\n

The IOC-run database of about 10,700 athletes competing in Paris detailed both boxers\u2019 experiences at the 2023 IBA Women\u2019s World Boxing Championships.<\/p>\n

Khelif was disqualified \u201cjust hours before her gold medal showdown\u201d against a Chinese opponent \u201cafter her elevated levels of testosterone failed to meet the eligibility criteria.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the time, IBA president Umar Kremlev said Khelif\u2019s DNA test results \u201cproved they had XY chromosomes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Khelif, whose camp initially cited \u201cmedical reasons\u201d for the disqualification, later withdrew an appeal of the findings.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

ngela Carini takes a break while fighting against Algeria\u2019s Imane Khelif.AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n

Khelif will next fight in the Olympics quarterfinals against\u00a0Hungaria\u2019s Anna Luca Hamori<\/a>\u00a0on Saturday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not scared,\u201d said Hamori, who trounced Australia\u2019s Marissa Williamson Pohlman in her opening fight. \u201cI don\u2019t care about the press story and social media. If she or he is a man, it will be a bigger victory for me if I win.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Angela Carini was left in tears.Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI\u2019m trying to not use my phone before the fight,\u201d Hamori added. \u201cI don\u2019t want to care about the comments or the story or the news. I just want to stay focused on myself. I did it before my last two fights, so I think this is the key, and we will see.\u201d<\/p>\n

Outrage exploded around the world, including from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.<\/p>\n

\u201cI regret it [Carini\u2019s withdrawal] even more. I was emotional yesterday when she wrote \u2018I will fight\u2019 because the dedication, the head, the character, surely also play a role in these things,\u201d Meloni said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut then it also matters to be able to compete on equal grounds and, from my point of view, it was not an even contest.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Imane Khelif, an Algerian boxer who failed gender eligibility tests in 2023 yet was nonetheless allowed to compete as a woman at this year\u2019s Olympics, hit her first-round opponent so … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2302,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2295"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2295\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2303,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2295\/revisions\/2303"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}