World reacts after boxer abandons fight amid gender storm: ‘Disgusting’
A major controversy has erupted at the boxing in Paris after a fighter at the centre of a gender storm won her fight in farcical scenes.
The Olympic boxing competition was plunged into controversy on Thursday as one of two fighters at the centre of a gender storm in the sport won her opening bout in just 46 seconds.
Algeria’s Imane Khelif, who failed a gender eligibility test last year and has faced criticism over her inclusion in the event, needed just one serious punch to prompt her Italian opponent to abandon their bout.
Italy’s Angela Carini personally called an end to the round of 16 encounter in the 66kg division after copping a heavy right hand to the chin from the Algerian inside the first minute.
Carini was not knocked down, but after copping the blow raised her hand and walked back to her corner where she told a trainer to end the fight.
“I have never been hit so hard in my life,” she said. “I had to safeguard my life.”
An Italian coach said Carini had suffered a badly hurt nose and the official decision was listed as an abandonment.
Australia narrowly avoided being thrust into the centre of the controversy when Marissa Williamson Pohlman lost her bout to Hungary’s Anna Hamori.
Hamori will now face Khelif, 25, who stopped only briefly to talk to reporters after her fight saying: “It’s always satisfying to win in such an important competition, but I remain focused on my goal of a medal.”
Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, who fights on Friday at 57kg, both competed at the Tokyo Olympics but were disqualified from the world championships last year.
But the IOC again OK’d their inclusion, despite noting Khelif’s DQ last year after “elevated levels of testosterone failed to meet the eligibility criteria”.
Aussie champ leads backlash: ‘Disgusting’
A storm of controversy had clouded the beginning of the competition and it exploded after Khelif’s appearance on Thursday, with the boxing fraternity leading the way.
“I can’t believe Olympic boxing has stooped this low,” Aussie boxing great Billy Dib said. “Olympic boxing needs to ban this. It’s a joke, disgusting on so many levels.”
“This is wrong,” Aussie boxing star Tim Tszyu said. “Shameful.”
Professional boxer Jake Paul added: “This is sickening. This is a travesty. Doesn’t matter what you believe. This is wrong and dangerous.”
“This is the purest form of evil unfolding right before your eyes,” his brother Logan Paul tweeted. “This delusion must end.”
Former British Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies tweeted: “I’m so angry at the IOC they learn nothing from history or science & women continually pay the price.”
British media figure Piers Morgan also described it as “disgusting”.
NRL great Phil Gould asked: “Why is this allowed to happen?”
Author JK Rowling, a prominent advocate of transgender women not being allowed to compete in women’s sport, also slammed the proceedings.
“This isn’t sport. From the bullying cheat in red all the way up to the organisers who allowed this to happen, this is men revelling in their power over women,” she tweeted.
Tennis legend Martina Navratilova, who has waged a similar campaign to Rowling, added: “Deplorable. This will not end well for the people in power who allowed this to happen.”
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she had been emotional after seeing Carini write “I will fight” on social media before the bout.
“Athletes who have male genetic characteristics should not be admitted to women’s competitions. Not because we want to discriminate against anyone, but in order to protect the right of female athletes to be able to compete on equal terms,” Meloni said.
“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.”
Reem Alsalem, the UN special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, wrote on X that Carini “and other female athletes should not have been exposed to this physical and psychological violence based on their sex”.
The public outcry afterwards oddly didn’t match the scenes inside the stadium.
How it all went down
Khelif was given a huge roar when she came into the North Paris Arena, where there were numerous Algeria fans with the country’s flag.
Before and during the very brief bout they chanted her name - and there were no signs of anything unusual as the fight opened.
Khelif certainly looked the sharper of the two fighters as they pawed at each other but did not appear to have landed anything of consequence when Carini raised her hand to pause proceedings and walked back to her corner.
There appeared to be few words exchanged between the Italian and her cornerman as he tightened her chin strap and sent her back to the centre of the ring.
But within seconds of the bout resuming Khelif landed a heavy right hand on the chin of her southpaw opponent.
It jerked Carini’s head back but she appeared to take it well and bounced back up on her toes.
Then came the chaos.
For the second time, the Italian raised her hand to indicate to the referee to step between the fighters and returned to her corner.
She told her cornerman to begin taking her gloves off - and he waved his hand to indicate to the referee they were abandoning the fight.
As Khelif received a congratulatory hug from the Algerian team, Carini took out her mouthguard and had an emotional exchange with her team.
She was constantly wiping her nose, which had been damaged by the blow, but was classy enough to return to the centre of the ring and stand while her opponent’s hand was raised.
But her anger was clear as she jerked her hand away from the referee, ignored an attempt by Khelif to shake her hand and dropped to her knees in devastation.
As the Carini’s tears flowed, Khelif walked to the Italian corner and held the ring ropes open for her opponent - a sign of respect.
But Carini ignored it and exited behind her back, leaving Khelif to awkwardly stand and walk back to her own corner.
Carini said she had felt the pressure of the controversy, but that it wasn’t something that had broken her mentally. She said it was the physical pain of the punch that caused her to abandon the fight.
“I am heartbroken because I am fighter, my father taught me to be a warrior,” she said.
“This time I didn’t make it. I felt too much pain in my nose, you all saw I started bleeding.”
Her furious coach added: “I don’t know if her nose is broken. I have to speak with the girl. But many people in Italy tried to call and tell her: ‘Don’t go please: it’s a man, it’s dangerous for you’.
“She felt pain in the nose and said to me I don’t want to fight anymore.”
Earlier Thursday, Algeria’s Olympic Committee (COA) condemned what it called “malicious and unethical attacks directed against our distinguished athlete, Imane Khelif, by certain foreign media”.
The COA hit out at “lies” that were “completely unfair”.
“We are all with you, Imane,” it added. “The whole nation supports you.”
Khelif and Lin were disqualified from the 2023 world championships in New Delhi, which was run by the International Boxing Association (IBA).
Lin was stripped of her bronze medal after undergoing “biochemical” tests mandated by the IBA.
However, the International Olympic Committee is running the boxing in the French capital because of governance, financial and ethical issues at the IBA.
IOC spokesman Mark Adams told reporters 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.”
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te has also given 28-year-old Lin his public backing. “Yu-ting’s performances have inspired many Taiwanese players and united Taiwanese people,” he wrote on Facebook.
“Now that she is once again on the international stage, we should stand united and cheer for her.”
But at least one woman boxer at the Games has spoken out about the controversy. Australia’s Caitlin Parker is in the 75kg weight class so will not face Khelif or Lin, but she made her stance on the controversy clear.
“I don’t agree with that being allowed, especially in combat sports as it can be incredibly dangerous,” she said.
Carini simply said: “It’s up to the IOC to judge.”
The IOC released a lengthy statement several hours after the fight defending the inclusion of the two fighters and saying it was “saddened by the abuse they are currently receiving”.
- with AFP
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