1 August 2024 08:40 pm Views - 33
Controversial Algerian boxer Imane Khelif won her opening bout at the Olympics after Angela Carini quit after just 46 seconds.
Khelif’s presence in Paris has been a divisive issue after she was disqualified from the 2023 world championships after failing an unspecified gender eligibility test.
She was cleared to compete at the Olympics and the controversy will only heighten after Thursday’s fight.
The pair only had a few exchanges for a big blow to Carini’s face ended in the Italian immediately abandoning the fight, an extremely unusual occurrence in Olympic boxing.
Carini refused to shake Khelif’s hand after the decision was announced and she cried in the ring before leaving.
She was still in tears when facing the media, and reportedly said, “I have never been hit so hard in my life. It’s up to the IOC to judge.”
Khelif is an accomplished amateur who won a silver medal at the International Boxing Association’s 2022 world championships.
The same governing body disqualified her from last year’s championships shortly before her gold-medal match because of what it claimed were elevated levels of testosterone.
The 25-year-old entered the ring at the North Paris Arena to a chorus of cheers, but the crowd was confused by the bout’s sudden end.
Khelif and Lin Yu‑ting of Taiwan have suddenly received massive scrutiny for their presence in Paris after years of amateur competition.
Lin won IBA world championships in 2018 and 2022, but the governing body stripped her of a bronze medal last year because it claimed she failed to meet unspecified eligibility requirements in a biochemical test.
The IBA claimed the boxers’ chromosome tests came back as XY, which is typically the male chromosome, rather than a female’s XX.
The IOC is in charge of Paris’ boxing program and has instructed the sport to find a new sanctioning body by early next year to ensure its Games’ future.
The Algerian Olympic Committee issued a statement on Wednesday condemning what it termed “lies” and “unethical targeting and maligning of our esteemed athlete, Imane Khelif, with baseless propaganda from certain foreign media outlets.”
Khelif could face Australian Marissa Willians in the quarter-finals if Williams wins her bout later on Thursday night.
Aussie boxing captain Caitlin Parker believes the Olympics’ approval of the two who had failed gender eligibility tests is “incredibly dangerous”.
“I don’t agree with them being allowed to compete in sport, especially combat sports,” Parker said.
“It can be incredibly dangerous.
“It’s not like I haven’t sparred men before. But you know it can be dangerous for combat sports and it should be seriously looked into.
“Yes, biologically ... genetically they are going to have more advantages.
“I really hope the organisations get their act together so that boxing can continue to be at the Olympics.
“It’s the oldest Olympic sport. Women’s boxing was only introduced in 2012 and I want to see it for the next 100, 200 years to come.”
On Thursday following the fight, Harry Potter author JK Rowling - who has faced criticism for her comments about transgender people - said the Paris Olympics would “be forever tarnished”.
“This isn’t sport. From the bullying cheat in red all the way up to the organisers who allowed this to happen,” she wrote on X.
“You’re a disgrace, your ‘safeguarding’ is a joke and #Paris24 will be forever tarnished by the brutal injustice done to Carini.”
IOC spokesman Mark Adams responded to the issue earlier 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.”
The level of testosterone permitted in a woman’s body remains a point of contention in the sporting world. (7 News with AAP)