Imane Khelif from Algeria emerged victorious in her opening Olympic boxing match on Thursday after her Italian opponent, Angela Carini, quit just 46 seconds into the bout.
Khelif was disqualified from the 2023 world championships due to an unspecified gender eligibility test, and her participation in the Paris Olympics has sparked controversy. There is no indication she identifies as transgender.
Carini and Khelif exchanged only a few punches before Carini abandoned the match, a rare occurrence in Olympic boxing. Carini’s headgear had apparently become dislodged twice before she decided to quit.
Carini refused to shake Khelif’s hand after the decision and cried in the ring before leaving.
Afterward, a tearful Carini explained she quit due to intense pain in her nose from the opening punches. She denied making a political statement or refusing to fight Khelif.
“I felt a severe pain in my nose, and with the maturity of a boxer, I said ‘enough,’ because I didn’t want to, I couldn’t finish the match,” Carini stated.
Khelif is an accomplished amateur who secured a silver medal at the 2022 world championships. However, she was disqualified from last year’s championships just before her gold-medal match due to elevated testosterone levels.
Entering the North Paris Arena to a chorus of cheers, Khelif left the crowd confused by the sudden end of the bout. Khelif, who is set to fight again on Saturday, did not speak to reporters.
“I am not here to judge or pass judgment,” Carini said. “I just did my job as a boxer. I got into the ring and fought. I did it with my head held high and a broken heart for not finishing the match.”
Both Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu‑ting have faced scrutiny at the Paris Olympics after years of amateur competition. Lin, who won world championships in 2018 and 2022, was stripped of a bronze medal last year for failing unspecified eligibility requirements.
Lin begins her Olympic journey on Friday against Uzbekistan’s Sitora Turdibekova.
The Algerian Olympic Committee condemned what it called “lies” and “unethical targeting” of Khelif by foreign media. Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni criticized Carini’s bout against Khelif, arguing it highlighted discrimination against women’s sports.
“Ensuring that athletes compete on an even playing field is essential,” Meloni said.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) defended the eligibility of Khelif and Lin, noting that all athletes were compliant with the rules. This year marks the first time Olympic boxing has achieved gender parity with equal numbers of male and female competitors.
The IOC has been overseeing boxing in Paris due to a ban on the International Boxing Association (IBA) for governance and financial transparency issues.
The IBA, led by Russian president Umar Kremlev, claimed both boxers were disqualified last year based on a confidential test, not a “testosterone examination.”
Women’s boxers have expressed mixed feelings about Khelif and Lin’s participation, with some calling for a closer examination of the rules governing gender in combat sports.
“It’s about fairness,” Australian middleweight Caitlin Parker said. “We all want fairness in sport.”