Olympic boxer deemed to have male chromosomes wins fight in 46 seconds,
opponent left in tears after hard hits
Angela Carini was left in
tears as Imane Khelif celebrated
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An
Algerian boxer who was deemed to have male chromosomes won a fight in the
66-kilogram women’s division at the Paris Olympics on Thursday.
Imane
Khelif defeated Italy’s Angela Carini after
Carini abandoned her match. The fight lasted all of 46 seconds before Carini
went to her cornermen to call off the fight.
Khelif celebrated the win while
Carini was left in tears. After the fight Carini, was heard yelling to her
coaches in Italian questioning the fairness of the bout.
Angela Carini of Italy reacts after her
fight against Imane Khelif of Algeria. (REUTERS/Isabel Infantes)
She then broke her silence about why
she abandoned the match.
"I got into the ring to
fight," she said, via Italy’s ANSA. "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."
Carini’s coach, Emanuele Renzini,
said that quitting the match wasn’t a part of the plan ahead of time.
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"It would have been easier not
to show up, because all of Italy had been asking her not to fight for
days," Renzini said. "But Angela was motivated and wanted to do it.
"Of course, when she met her
opponent at the draw, she said 'it's not fair.’ But there was no premeditation
here today She quit after taking one punch, she told me she didn't feel she
could fight."
Khelif fought under a firestorm of
controversy regarding a failed gender eligibility test in 2023.
Angela Carini of Team Italy reacts
after abandoning the Women's 66kg preliminary round match against Imane Khelif
of Team Algeria in the first round on day six of the Olympic Games Paris 2024
at North Paris Arena on August 01, 2024 in Paris, France. (Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
Khelif
was disqualified during the 2023 World Championships, sanctioned by the
International Boxing Association. The organization said Khelif, and Taiwan’s
Lin Yu-Ting failed to meet gender eligibility standards.
IBA president Umar Kremlev explained
the decision at the time, according to Russia’s Tass News Agency. Reuters
reported at the time that Khelif tested positive for having high levels of
testosterone.
"Based on DNA tests, we
identified a number of athletes who tried to trick their colleagues into posing
as women. According to the results of the tests, it was proved that they have
XY chromosomes. Such athletes were excluded from competition," Kremlev
said.
Khelif and the Algerian Olympic
Committee (COA) both denied the claims. The International Olympic Committee
also cleared Khelif to compete in the Games.
"Everyone competing in the
women’s category is complying with the competition eligibility rules," IOC
spokesperson Mark Adams said. "They are women in their passports and it’s
stated that this is the case, that they are female."
Italy's Angela Carini fights against
Algeria's Imane Khelif in the women's 66kg preliminaries round of 16 boxing
match during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the North Paris Arena, in
Villepinte on August 1, 2024. (MOHD RASFAN/AFP via Getty Images)
Algerian Imane Khelif left Italy's
Angela Carini in tears (Getty Images)
Imane Khelif of Team Algeria interacts
with a coach of Team Algeria after Angela Carini of Team Italy (not pictured)
abandons the Women's 66kg preliminary round match in the first round on day six
of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at North Paris Arena on August 01, 2024 in
Paris, France. (Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
The COA called the claims
"baseless."
"COA strongly condemns the
unethical targeting and maligning of our esteemed athlete, Imane Khelif, with
baseless propaganda from certain foreign media outlets," the committee
said Wednesday, via Reuters.
Imane Khelif of Algeria and Angela
Carini of Italy react after their fight. (REUTERS/Isabel Infantes)
"Such attacks on her personality
and dignity are deeply unfair, especially as she prepares for the pinnacle of
her career at the Olympics. The COA has taken all necessary measures to protect
our champion."
Italy’s ANSA quoted
Rosario Coco, the president of Gaynet Communications in Italy, as saying that
he learned Khelif was intersex and not trans gender.
"In contrast to the reports that
have been circulating, the Algerian athlete Imane Khelif is not a trans
woman," Coco told the news agency.
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"From the information we have
about her, she is an intersex person, who has always socialized as a woman and
has a sporting history in women's competitions."
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