Paris Olympics 2024 is in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. This time it’s Algeria’s win by default after Italy’s Angela Carini abandoned the match after a few brisk punches in the initial 46 seconds. Imane Khelif was disqualified from the 2023 World Championships because she failed an unspecified gender eligibility test.
Carini walking away from the match was a first, stated to be an extremely rare occurrence in Olympic boxing. She also didn’t shake her opponent Khelif’s hand even after the referee formally raised the issue.
After the initial exchange of punches, the Italian sank to her knees and cried. She said the pain from the opening punches led her to quit the match. Carini highlighted that she felt pain in the nose and said ‘enough’ as she didn’t want to continue.
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Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni came up in support of Carini. She posted on Instagram that she knows that the Italian boxer will not give up. Meloni believes Carini, 25, will one day win what she deserves with effort and sweat, and that too in an ‘equal’ competition. The Italian PM has opposed allowing athletes with genetically male characteristics to compete against women. She said by giving them the green light, they are discriminating against women’s rights.
The Italian boxer said she stood in the boxing ring with her head held high but with a broken heart for not finishing the last kilometer.
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Carini shared that her father taught her to be a warrior, a fighter and she has always stepped into the ring with honor. She added that she has always served her country with pride and loyalty, but this time she just couldn’t fight anymore and ended the match.
Meanwhile, the Algerian Olympic Committee condemned the backlash against their boxer Imane Khelif. It said Khelif was being targeted by baseless propaganda from some foreign media outlets who are spreading lies, targeting and maligning their esteemed athlete.
