Imane Khelif‘s first fight will do nothing to calm the controversy
around the boxer’s entrance into the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Khelif, an Algerian who failed gender eligibility tests at the 2023
World Championships, forced her Italian opponent, Angela Carini, to
withdraw from their opening-round bout in 46 seconds Thursday.

https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/08/2024-imane-khelif-algeria-seen-86638301.jpg?resize=768,575&quality=75&strip=all

Imane Khelif was not allowed to box in the world championships.
REUTERS

A furious Carini was left in tears and retreated to her corner after
getting hit twice in the face by Khelif.

She yelled “this is unjust” at her corner and slammed her headgear on
the canvas as the match in the 66-kilogram division was called off.

Carini refused a handshake from Khelif and then ripped her hand away
from the ref as Khelif’s was raised as the winner.

“I’m used to suffering,” Carini said after the fight when she spoke to
reporters for 20 minutes through tears. “I’ve never taken a punch like
that, it’s impossible to continue. I’m nobody to say it’s illegal.

“I got into the ring to fight. But I didn’t feel like it anymore after
the first minute. I started to feel a strong pain in my nose. I didn’t
give up, but a punch hurt too much and so I said enough. I’m leaving
with my head held high.”

Carini’s coach, Emanuel Renzini, told reporters that he was unsure if
the boxer’s nose was broken and that she had been warned not to take the
fight.

“Many people in Italy tried to call and tell her: ‘Don’t go please: It’s
a man, it’s dangerous for you,” Renzini said.

Before the Olympics, the IOC defended the decision to let Khelif, 25,
and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting into the competition after both were
disqualified from the world championships.

“All athletes participating in the boxing tournament of the Olympic
Games Paris 2024 comply with the competition’s eligibility and entry
regulations, as well as all applicable medical regulations,” the
International Olympic Committee said in a statement prior to the Games.

Both had competed in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and failed to medal.

“I’m here for the gold,” Khelif told BBC Sport. “I fight everybody.”

The different status of Lin and Khelif at the Olympics and worlds is
fallout from the years-long dispute between the IOC and the Russian-led
IBA over alleged failures of governance and integrity, plus reliance on
funding from state energy firm Gazprom.

“Everyone competing in the women’s category is complying with the
competition eligibility rules,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams said. “They are
women in their passports and it’s stated that this is the case, that
they are female.”

The IOC has appointed officials to run boxing at two straight Summer
Games and acknowledged Monday the tournament rules for Paris are
“descended from” those in place eight years ago at the Rio de Janeiro
Olympics.

Boxing officials picked to run Paris qualifying and finals tournaments
tried “to restrict amendments to minimize the impact on athletes’
preparation and guaranteeing consistency between Olympic Games,” the IOC
said.

The IOC-run database of about 10,700 athletes competing in Paris
detailed both boxers’ experiences at the 2023 worlds.

Khelif was disqualified “just hours before her gold medal showdown”
against a Chinese opponent “after her elevated levels of testosterone
failed to meet the eligibility criteria.”

Khelif will next fight in the quarterfinals against Hungaria’s Anna Luca
Hamori on Saturday.

“I’m not scared,” said Hamori, who trounced Australia’s Marissa
Williamson Pohlman in her opening fight. “I don’t 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.”

Outrage exploded around the world, including from Italian prime minister
Giorgia Meloni.

“I regret it [Carini’s withdrawal] even more. I was emotional yesterday
when she wrote ‘I will fight’ because the dedication, the head, the
character, surely also play a role in these things,” Meloni said.

“But then it also matters to be able to compete on equal grounds and,
from my point of view, it was not an even contest.”

https://nypost.com/2024/08/01/sports/imane-khelif-forces-opponent-to-quit-46-seconds-into-fight-after-gender-storm/