Featured Image Credit: BBC
Topics: Olympics, Sport, Imane Khelif
Anish Vij
The Olympic boxer who broke down in tears after abandoning her match against Imane Khelif after 46 seconds explains why she did it.
Italian Angela Carini faced off against Algeria's Khelif at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Thursday (1 August), which comes after Khelif was disqualified from last year’s Women’s World Boxing Championships in New Delhi for not being able to meet their gender eligibility criteria.
Though before the Olympics kicked off, Khelif was one of the two athletes (Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting) cleared to compete in the women’s boxing.
During yesterday's round of 16 bout, the 25-year-old dominated the match early on by landing a punch to Carini's, 25, face.
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She then signalled that she was unable to carry on due to pain in her nose.
Her coach, Emanuele Renzini, said: “She felt pain in her nose and said to me ‘I don’t want to fight anymore’.”
Meanwhile, a tearful Carini said she feared for her health after saying she had 'never felt a punch like this'.
She said: “It hurt so much. I am heartbroken. I went to the ring to honour my father. I was told a lot of times that I was a warrior, but I preferred to stop for my health. I have never felt a punch like this.
“After the second blow, and after years of experience in the ring and a lifetime of fighting, I felt extreme pain in my nose.
“I said ‘enough’ because I didn’t want to… I couldn’t carry on in the match. I thought maybe it was better that I brought an end to the match.
“I went to my corner and raised my hand and said I’d had enough because my nose hurt so much.
“I’ve always gone into the ring with honour, I’ve always fought for my country, loyally, but this time I couldn’t as I wasn’t able to fight anymore.”
Meanwhile, the IOC and Paris 2024 Boxing Unit said in a statement on Thursday evening: “Every person has the right to practise sport without discrimination.
“Eligibility rules should not be changed during ongoing competition, and any rule change must follow appropriate processes and should be based on scientific evidence.
“The IOC is committed to protecting the human rights of all athletes participating in the Olympic Games as per the Olympic Charter, the IOC Code of Ethics and the IOC Strategic Framework on Human Rights.
"The IOC is saddened by the abuse that the two athletes are currently receiving.”