Italian boxer Angela Carini abandoned her Olympic fight after 46 seconds against Algerian Imane Khelif sparking huge controversy at the Olympics.
Khelif is one of the two boxers cleared to compete in the women’s event amid a gender eligibility row, with Khelief previously disqualified from the Women’s World Boxing Championships last year for failing testosterone and gender eligibility tests.
Carini revealed she pulled out of the fight after being hit harder than she had ever been hit before. A first punch dislodged her chinstrap and a second smashed her chin spreading blood on her shorts.
Carini was visibly emotional after her defeat, with the 25-year-old crying inside the ring.
The fight has sparked outrage from Olympic fans and experts on violence against women.
Reem Alsalem, the UN Special rapporteur on violence against women and girls expressed her concern by tweeting: “Angela Carini rightly followed her instincts and prioritized her physical safety, but she and other female athletes should not have been exposed to this physical and psychological violence based on their sex.”
The Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also commented: “I think that athletes who have male genetic characteristics should not be admitted to women’s competitions. And not because you want to discriminate against someone, but to protect the right of female athletes to be able to compete on equal terms.
“I was emotional yesterday when she wrote ‘I will fight’ because the dedication, the head, the character, surely also play a role in these things. But then it also matters to be able to compete on equal grounds and from my point of view it was not an even contest.”
After the fight, Khelif spoke briefly to reporters stating: “I am here for gold. I will fight anybody, I will fight them all.”
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