Angela Carini abandons Olympic fight after 46 seconds against Imane Khelif
Algerian Imane Khelif moved past Angela Carini when the Italian abandoned their 66kg fight after 46 seconds in the first round on Thursday.
Khelif has been in the spotlight since she was disqualified just hours before the gold medal match at the 2023 world championships for failing International Boxing Association (IBA) eligibility rules that prevent athletes with XY chromosomes from competing in women’s events. She was ruled eligible, however, to compete in Paris, a competition run by the International Olympic Committee.
Carini went to her coach 30 seconds into the fight to fix her headgear but after briefly resuming she returned to her corner and stopped, quickly leaving the ring.
She later explained that she had decided not to fight after feeling intense pain in her nose. “For me, it’s not a defeat. For me, when you climb those ropes, you’re already a warrior, you’re already a winner,” Carini said. “Regardless of everything it’s OK, fine like this. I didn’t lose tonight … I only did my job as a fighter. I got in the ring and I fought. I didn’t make it. I’m coming out with my head held high and with a broken heart.
“I’m a mature woman. The ring is my life. I’ve always been very instinctive. And when I feel that something isn’t right, it’s not giving up. It’s having the maturity to stop. It’s having the maturity to say: ‘OK, that’s enough’.”
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.
Taiwan’s double world champion Lin Yu-ting also lost her bronze medal at last year’s world championships after she failed to meet the criteria. Lin will face Uzbekistan’s Sitora Turdibekova in a featherweight bout in Paris on Friday.