In a highly controversial Olympic match today, an Algerian boxer, Imane Khelif, who is considered a 'biological male', defeated Italian boxer Angela Carini. The fight lasted only 46 seconds, and Carini expressed her frustration by throwing her helmet to the ground and shouting, "This is unjust."
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The two women were competing in the 66 kg category in Paris. During the round-of-16 bout, the fight ended prematurely. Carini paused the fight early on to adjust her head guard. After the pause, Khelif landed a clean right hand. Carini then motioned to her team and chose not to continue, and the referee waved off the contest.
After the match was halted, the referee raised Khelif's hand in the air. However, a visibly angry Carini promptly withdrew her hand from the fight official and walked away.
Carini said she had pulled out after being hit harder than she had ever been hit and feared her nose was broken. “I am heartbroken,” Carini said. “I went to the ring to honour my father. I was told a lot of times that I was a warrior but I preferred to stop for my health. I have never felt a punch like this.”
I got into the ring to fight. I didn’t give up, but one punch hurt too much and so I said enough. I’m going out with my head held high. After the second punch, after years of experience, I felt a strong pain in the nose. I said enough, because I didn’t want. I couldn’t finish the fight after the punch to the nose. So it was better to put an end to it. I am in pieces because I am a fighter, they taught me to be a warrior. I have always tried to behave with honour, I have always represented my country with loyalty. This time I didn’t manage to because I couldn’t fight any more. Regardless of the person I had in front of me, which doesn’t interest me, regardless of all the row, I just wanted to win. I wanted to face the person that I had in front of me and to fight.”
Khelif was allowed to compete at these Paris Games despite being thrown out of last year’s world championships in Delhi for failing a testosterone test carried out to establish gender qualification. Khelif's presence at the Paris Olympics has sparked a lot of controversy among social media users.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni questioned the International Olympic Committee's decision to allow the Algerian athlete to compete among women after the fight.
“From my point of view, this was not an equal competition. I think that athletes who have male genetic characteristics should not participate in women’s competitions. Not because we want to discriminate against anyone, but to protect the rights of female athletes to compete on equal terms.”
