A major controversy has broken out at Paris Olympics after Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, who had failed a gender eligibility test last year, pummelled Italian opponent Angela Carini in 46 seconds at the Games on Thursday in the women’s 66kg boxing category match.
The uproar threatens to overshadow the Games, which are already reeling from distasteful scenes witnessed during the Opening Ceremony, a severe heat wave that is gripping Paris amid a lack of air conditioning in the Olympic village and inadequate food choices for international athletes.
Imane Khelif (Algeria) and Angela Carini (Italy) exchanged a few brisk punches in their 46 seconds of competition in the Paris olympic ring before the Italian boxer abruptly walked away from her Algerian opponent and went to her corner, abandoning her bout — an extremely rare occurrence in Olympic boxing.
Carini didn’t shake Khelif’s hand after the referee formally raised it, but instead sobbed uncontrollably in the middle of the ring after sinking to her knees with blood on her shorts and a badly injured nose. Minutes afterward, a still-tearful Carini said she quit because of the pain from those opening punches.
Khelif advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s 66kg category after the match.
The shocking visuals have renewed the debate about the inclusion of ‘gendered’ competitors in other sports at the Olympics and beyond who have undergone similar gender eligibility testing.
Later when talking to reporters, a distressed Carini broke down in tears saying “I have a big pain in my nose and I said, ‘Stop’. It’s better to avoid keeping going. My nose started dripping (with blood) from the first hit. I fought very often in the national team. I train with my brother. I’ve always fought against men, but I felt too much pain today.”
Algeria’s Khelif and another Olympic athlete Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, who fights on Friday in the 57kg category, were both disqualified from the 2023 world championships last year in New Delhi, which was run by the International Boxing Association (IBA). Lin was stripped of her bronze medal after undergoing “biochemical” tests mandated by the IBA.
However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is running the boxing matches in Paris because of ‘governance, financial and ethical issues at the IBA.’
The IOC website for accredited media in Paris said that the 25-year-old Khelif was disqualified in the 2023 World Championships after “elevated levels of testosterone failed to meet the eligibility criteria.”
IOC spokesman Mark Adams told reporters this week: “Everyone competing in the women’s category… is complying with competition eligibility rules. “They are women in their passports and it’s stated in there that they are female.”
Both Khelif and Yu-ting had boxed in the women’s event at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago.
The one-sided bout sparked an immediate reaction from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who said the fight was “not on an equal footing”. The Italian PM made it clear “I do not agree with the IOC.” during a meeting with Italian athletes in Paris and added “I think that athletes who have male genetic characteristics should not be admitted to women’s competitions.”
While meeting with Angela Carini, Meloni said “I know you won’t give up, Angela, and I know that one day you will earn with effort and sweat what you deserve. In a finally fair competition” positing on X alongside a heartfelt picture on Thursday.
Reem Alsalem, the UN special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, wrote on X that Carini “and other female athletes should not have been exposed to this physical and psychological violence based on their sex”.
Since the controversy broke out on Thursday, both Algeria and Taiwan have sprung to the defence of their boxers.
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te gave the 28-year-old Lin his public backing. “Yu-ting’s performances have inspired many Taiwanese players and united Taiwanese people,” he wrote on Facebook.
“Now that she is once again on the international stage, we should stand united and cheer for her.”
Algeria’s Olympic Committee (COA) condemned what it called “malicious and unethical attacks directed against our distinguished athlete, Imane Khelif, by certain foreign media”.
The COA hit out at “lies” that were “completely unfair”.
At least one other woman boxer at the Paris Games has spoken out about her concerns. Australia’s Caitlin Parker who is in the 75kg weight class has made her stance on the issue clear saying that she will not compete against any males in a female sport.
“I don’t agree with that being allowed, especially in combat sports as it can be incredibly dangerous,” she said.
Since the controversy broke out, the International Olympic Committee has defended their decision to let Imane Khelif participate in women’s boxing, categorically stating that “she is a woman and has been playing as a woman boxer all her life.”
