A boxer considered a ‘biological male’ today defeated an Italian woman in one of the most controversial Olympic matches ever.
The fight lasted 46 seconds and her Italian opponent threw her helmet to the ground as the fight was stopped.
She refused the handshake, fell to the canvas and appeared to wipe away a tear.
Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, 25, fought against Italian Angela Carini, 25, despite being ruled out of a major boxing match ahead of the Olympics.
Carini appeared to shed a tear after being hit twice and left the fight.
25-year-old Italian Angela Carini fell to her knees in tears after losing the match against her Algerian opponent Imane Khelif in just 46 seconds
Carini (pictured) was assaulted during the fight, which came after a gender dispute arose over her opponent, who was banned from fighting at the world championships because he was considered “biologically male.”
Controversial Algerian fighter Imane Khelif (center) clashed with Carini in this morning’s Olympic welterweight bout
It was not immediately clear whether the Italian had stopped the fight in protest against her opponent, or whether she felt the blows she had received were too hard.
Khelif was disqualified from last year’s world championships after testing positive for testosterone, a test carried out to determine gender.
Despite her problems with the gender test, she was admitted to the Olympic Games amid much fanfare.
The Paris 2024 Olympics have accepted her as a woman and mention this in her official biography.
Another female boxer, Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan, was also disqualified from the 2023 Women’s World Boxing Championships after failing a gender test.
Former featherweight world champion Barry McGuigan, now chairman of the Professional Boxing Association, called it a “shocking” and “pathetic” decision to allow “a man” to fight women.
International Boxing Association (IBA) president Umar Kremlev said after a series of DNA tests the federation “unmasked athletes who tried to mislead their colleagues and pretended to be women.
Kremlev claimed that the tests “showed that they had XY chromosomes and were therefore excluded from the sporting events.”
The Italian fighter (in blue) refused the handshake and fell to the canvas, appearing to wipe away a tear. Winner Khelif is pictured in red as her opponent leaves the ring
Algeria’s Imane Khelif (in red) leaves after her victory in this morning’s Olympic boxing match
Italian Sports Minister Andrea Abodi expressed concerns about Khelif’s participation, but Angela Carini openly stated that “respect” for her opponents was her mantra.
She said: ‘Boxing is a sport that teaches you to respect your opponent. It can be a weapon in life, but only for defence. It cannot and should not be abused. Like any sport, it can instead become a vehicle for expressing anger and pain.’
The Algerian Olympic Committee has condemned the attacks on its boxer as “unfounded” after questions were raised about her participation in the Paris Olympics.
But Khelif, who competed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, only came under fire after he failed tests in New Delhi last year.
She received a thunderous applause from the loyal Algerian fans when she entered the ring, but there were also boos.
At 1.78 meters and five centimeters taller than her police officer, Khelif showed her strength with a series of powerful punches at the start of the three-round match.
But within a minute it was over.
The conflict comes amid a storm of dissent at the Olympic Games over “biologically male” fighters competing in the women’s divisions.