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Olympic boxer who walked out of fight after 46 seconds wants to apologize to rival who failed gender eligibility test

Home> News> Sport

Updated 15:33 2 Aug 2024 GMT+1Published 15:03 2 Aug 2024 GMT+1

Olympic boxer who walked out of fight after 46 seconds wants to apologize to rival who failed gender eligibility test

Italian Olympic boxer Angela Carini walked out of her fight against Imane Khelif at Paris 2024

Emily Brown

Emily Brown

The Olympic boxer who walked out of her Paris 2024 fight after just 46 seconds has said she wants to apologize to her opponent.

Italian boxer Angela Carini spoke out after she faced Algeria's Imane Khelif at the Olympics yesterday (1 August).

The fight was only just getting started, with only a few punches thrown when Carini abandoned the welterweight 16 round bout altogether.

Carini refused to shake Khelif's hand and appeared to get emotional in the ring before she left, later explaining she 'didn't succeed' because she simply 'couldn't fight anymore'.

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Carini took on Khelif at Paris 2024. (Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
Carini took on Khelif at Paris 2024. (Richard Pelham/Getty Images)

She told reporters she had never been punched so hard in her career before her fight against Khelif.

Her walkout at the Olympics came after Khelif was disqualified from the boxing world championships in 2023 after she failed a gender eligibility test due to what the International Boxing Association claimed were elevated levels of testosterone.

According to a Reuters report, she failed due to IBA eligibility rules preventing athletes with XY chromosomes from competing in women’s events.

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However, the International Olympic Committee has assured Khelif is eligible to take part in the Olympics. The boxer has always competed in the women's division for her sport and is recognized by the IOC as a female athlete.

"Everyone competing in the women's category is complying with the competition eligibility rules," IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said.

Khelif managed to land a punch to the face after just 30 seconds. (Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
Khelif managed to land a punch to the face after just 30 seconds. (Richard Pelham/Getty Images)

"They are women in their passports, and it's stated that this is the case that they are female," he added.

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The IOC has added that the rules of eligibility for Paris 2024 are based on those used in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

In the wake of the fight, Carini told Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport the 'controversy' around the bout made her 'sad'.

"I'm sorry for my opponent, too. If the IOC said she can fight, I respect that decision," she said.

Carini expressed belief that abandoning the fight was the right and mature step for her to take, but she did share her regret at her decision not to shake hands with Khelif.

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"It wasn't something I intended to do," Carini continued. "Actually, I want to apologize to her and everyone else. I was angry because my Olympics had gone up in smoke."

If she meets Khelif again, Carini said she would 'embrace her'.

In an interview with BBC Sport, Carini added: "It could have been the match of a lifetime, but I had to preserve my life as well in that moment."

Featured Image Credit: Fabio Bozzani/Anadolu via Getty Images

Topics: Olympics, Boxing, Sport

Emily Brown
Emily Brown

Emily Brown is UNILAD Editorial Lead at LADbible Group. She first began delivering news when she was just 11 years old - with a paper route - before graduating with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University. Emily joined UNILAD in 2018 to cover breaking news, trending stories and longer form features. She went on to become Community Desk Lead, commissioning and writing human interest stories from across the globe, before moving to the role of Editorial Lead. Emily now works alongside the UNILAD Editor to ensure the page delivers accurate, interesting and high quality content.

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