‘Sobbing’ Boxer Angela Carini Quits Match After 46 Seconds as Gender Debate Rages: Video

Angela Carini, a female boxer from Italy, withdrew from a boxing match at the Paris Olympics in just 46 seconds after taking a punch to the face from a competitor, Imane Khelif, who was disqualified from a previous competition over gender identity controversies, according to NBC News.

“This is unjust,” Carini said, according to The Toronto Sun. “Carini fell to her knees in the ring, sobbing,” Reuters reported.

The video went viral on X showing the short match.

Here’s a longer view of the match video:

According to Politico EU, Carini withdrew after the “second punch due to severe pain in her nose.” The New York Times reported that Carini took “a heavy punch.”

According to Olympics.com, Carini was born in 1998 and boxes for Italy. Carini first participated in the women’s welter competition in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, which was held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the site reported.

Carini’s opponent, who threw the punch, Imane Khelif, who was born in 1999 and boxes for Algeria, competed in the Tokyo Olympics in the “women’s light” division, Olympics.com reported. According to NBC News, “there’s no indication” that Khelif “identifies as transgender or intersex.”

When Khelif and another boxer were disqualified from a women’s competition in 2023, “sporting officials alleged that the boxers failed an unspecified test because they had male chromosomes,” NBC News reported. Politico reported of Khelif, “Unusually, she is reported to have XY sex chromosomes — most women have XX sex chromosomes — but Khelif was born female.” However, Fox News reported that “Khelif and the Algerian Olympic Committee (COA) both denied the claims” about XY chromosomes, which the network attributed to a statement International Boxing Association president Umar Kremlev gave to Russia’s Tass News Agency.

The New York Times reported that “sex testing for women’s Olympic competitors began in 1968,” but ended in 1999.

According to a statement, the International Boxing Association wrote that Khelif was disqualified from a women’s boxing competition in 2023 after a test indicated that Khelif and another athlete “conclusively indicated that both athletes did not meet the required necessary eligibility criteria and were found to have competitive advantages over other female competitors.” The statement did not reveal the exact nature of the test, other than to say it did not involve testosterone.

However, the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit and International Olympic Committee wrote in its own statement, “We have seen in reports misleading information about two female athletes competing at the Olympic Games Paris 2024. The two athletes have been competing in international boxing competitions for many years in the women’s category, including the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, International Boxing Association (IBA) World Championships, and IBA-sanctioned tournaments.”

According to the statement, “These two athletes were the victims of a sudden and arbitrary decision by the IBA. Towards the end of the IBA World Championships in 2023, they were suddenly disqualified without any due process.”

However, Matteo Salvini, Italy’s deputy prime minister, wrote on X, “Our athlete had to retire against Imane Khelif, before bursting into tears after so many sacrifices went up in smoke. A truly un-Olympic scene: shame on those bureaucrats who allowed a match that was evidently not on equal terms.”

---

Angela Carini Fell to Her Knees in Tears But Imane Khelif Posted on Instagram About the Win

Video also showed Carini refusing to shake Khelif’s hand before falling to her knees in tears.

“I am heartbroken,” Carini told reporters, according to The New York Times. “I went to the ring to honor 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.”

She added, according to The Times: “I got into the ring to fight. I didn’t give up. But one punch hurt too much and so I said, ‘Enough.’ I’m going out with my head held high.”

After Carini quit the match, Khelif posted on Instagram, “🤲☝️first Victory.”

“I am Italian and you have all my support. I am truly sorry for all the lies you have to read and the behaviors far from the Olympic spirit,” wrote one person on Khelif’s comment thread. But others criticized Khelif on the thread.

After the match, Carini told NBC News that she felt “severe pain” in her nose.

“I am not here to judge or pass judgment,” Carini told reporters after the match, according to NBC. “If an athlete is this way, and in that sense it’s not right or it is right, it’s not up to me to decide.”

However, the decision to allow Khelif to box in the women’s competition was criticized by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who told reporters, according to a translation by NBC, “We have to pay attention, in an attempt to not discriminate, that we’re actually discriminating” against women. “In these things what counts is your dedication, your head, and character, but it also counts having a parity of arms.”

Former President Donald Trump shared a video clip of Carini withdrawing and wrote on Truth Social, “I WILL KEEP MEN OUT OF WOMEN’S SPORTS!” Author J.K. Rowling called the match a “brutal injustice” on X.

Others defended Khelif. Ismaël Bennacer, an Algerian national team soccer player, wrote on X, “Full support for our champion Imane Khelif, who is suffering a wave of unjustified hatred. Her presence at the Olympic Games is simply the result of her talent and hard work.”

---

The International Boxing Association Previously Disqualified Imane Khelif & Another Athlete From a Women’s World Boxing Championship Due to Concerns About ‘Competitive Advantages’

On July 31, the International Boxing Association wrote in a statement, “The International Boxing Association (IBA) feels it appropriate at this prevalent time, to address recent media statements regarding those athletes Lin Yu-ting and Imane Khelif, particularly regarding their participation in the Paris Olympic Games 2024.”

The IBA continued, “On 24 March 2023, IBA disqualified athletes Lin Yu-ting and Imane Khelif from the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships New Delhi 2023. This disqualification was a result of their failure to meet the eligibility criteria for participating in the women’s competition, as set and laid out in the IBA Regulations. This decision, made after a meticulous review, was extremely important and necessary to uphold the level of fairness and utmost integrity of the competition.”

IBA noted, “Point to note, the athletes did not undergo a testosterone examination but were subject to a separate and recognized test, whereby the specifics remain confidential. This test conclusively indicated that both athletes did not meet the required necessary eligibility criteria and were found to have competitive advantages over other female competitors.”

Added the IBA, “We express concern over the inconsistent application of eligibility criteria by other sporting organizations, including those overseeing the Olympic Games. The IOC’s differing regulations on these matters, in which IBA is not involved, raise serious questions about both competitive fairness and athletes’ safety.”

---

The Joint Paris 2024 Boxing Unit/IOC Statement Says Imane Khelif & Lin Yu-ting Were Being Treated With ‘Aggression’

The statement by the Joint Paris 2024 Boxing Unit/IOC continued: “The current aggression against these two athletes is based entirely on this arbitrary decision, which was taken without any proper procedure – especially considering that these athletes had been competing in top-level competition for many years.”

The statement noted, “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.”

Added the groups, “The IBA’s recognition was withdrawn by the IOC in 2023 following its suspension in 2019.”

Algeria’s Olympic Committee told Reuters, “COA strongly condemns the unethical targeting and maligning of our esteemed athlete, Imane Khelif, with baseless propaganda from certain foreign media outlets.”

2 Comments