Name: Algerian Boxer Who Previously Failed Gender Eligibility Criteria Wins Olympic Match After Opponent Quits
Uploaded: 2024-08-02T02:30:02.000Z
Description: Algeria's Imane Khelif, a boxer disqualified from the 2023 Women's World Boxing Championships for failing to meet unspecified gender eligibility criteria, won the women's opening Olympics match in Paris on Aug. 1 against Italy's Angela Carini.

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Algeria's Imane Khelif, a boxer disqualified from the 2023 Women's World Boxing Championships for failing to meet unspecified gender eligibility criteria, won the women's opening Olympics match in Paris on Aug. 1 against Italy's Angela Carini.

The match between Khelif and Carini lasted a mere 46 seconds, and the two opponents exchanged only a few punches before Carini walked away and abandoned the fight.

A tearful Carini—who is about two inches shorter than her opponent—said she ended the match because she "felt a strong pain" in her nose after the opening punches.

"You all saw my nose that started bleeding. I didn't lose tonight, I just surrendered with maturity. I am a mature woman, the ring is my life," Carini said in a post-match interview.

"I've always been very instinctive, but when I feel something is not going well, it's not a surrender but having the maturity to stop."

Carini did not shake Khelif's hand following the conclusion of the match. She was seen crying in the center of the ring on her knees as she said in Italian, "It's not fair."

Angela Carini of Team Italy reacts after abandoning the Women's 66kg preliminary round match against Imane Khelif of Team Algeria in the first round on day six of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at North Paris Arena in Paris on Aug. 1, 2024. (Richard Pelham/Getty Images)

Khelif will face Hungary's Luca Anna Hamori of the women's 66-kilogram division in the quarter-finals on Aug. 3. Hamori <a href="https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/results/boxing/women-s-66kg/8fnl000100--">defeated</a> Australia's Marissa Williamson in a unanimous points decision 5-0 on Aug. 1.

"First, I thank all the Algerian people, after this first victory," Khelif said after the match concluded. "I hope to achieve a second victory to secure a medal, and then think about the gold medal."
<h2>Previous Failure to Meet Eligibility Requirements</h2>
However, Khelif's victory was met with controversy. At last year's women's boxing world championships in New Delhi, India, the International Boxing Association (IBA) disqualified Khelif and Taiwan's Lin Yu Ting—a three-time medalist—because they failed to meet eligibility rules that prevent athletes with XY chromosomes from competing in women's events.

In a <a href="https://www.iba.sport/news/statement-made-by-the-international-boxing-association-regarding-athletes-disqualifications-in-world-boxing-championships-2023/">statement</a> released on July 31, the IBA said the March 23, 2023, decision was made after "meticulous review" and was intended to "uphold the level of fairness and utmost integrity of the competition."

"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," the IBA stated.

According to the sports organization, the disqualification was based on two tests conducted on both athletes during the world championships in Istanbul in 2022 and New Delhi in 2023.

The IBA added that "the athletes did not undergo a testosterone examination but were subject to a separate and recognized test, whereby the specifics remain confidential."

However, the  International Olympic Committee (IOC) ruled that the two boxers would be eligible to compete in Paris after the Olympic body stripped the IBA of international recognition in June 2023 over issues related to governance, finance, and ethics.

Yu Ting is due to face Uzbekistan's Sitora Turdibekova in the 57-kilogram featherweight division on Aug. 2.

Taiwan's Lin Yu Ting shouts against Kazakhstan's Nazym Kyazaibay in their women's fly quarter-final boxing match at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta on Aug. 29, 2018. (Bay Ismoyo/AFP via Getty Images)

The IOC's "<a href="https://olympics.com/ioc/news/ioc-releases-framework-on-fairness-inclusion-and-non-discrimination-on-the-basis-of-gender-identity-and-sex-variations" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Framework</a> on Fairness, Inclusion and Non-Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity and Sex Variations" sets out guidelines for federations on ensuring inclusion and fairness in sport, including for athletes with differences/disorders of sexual development (DSDs).

DSDs are a group of rare conditions involving genes, hormones, and reproductive organs. Some people with DSDs are raised as female but have XY sex chromosomes and blood testosterone levels in the male range.

The IBA said in its statement that it is not involved in the IOC's "differing regulations," adding that the Olympic body's decision raises "serious questions about both competitive fairness and athletes' safety."

"What I would say is that this involves real people, and we are talking about real people's lives here," IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said in the organization's defense of allowing the two boxers to compete. Adams added that the two have competed over the years and have both lost and won in women's boxing.

NTD reached out to the IOC for further comment but did not receive a response by publication time.
<h2>Italy Responds</h2>
Speaking out following her loss, Carini said she's not qualified to decide whether Khelif should be allowed to compete and doesn't harbor any ill feelings toward the Algerian.

"I am not here to judge or pass judgment," she said. "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. I just did my job as a boxer. I got into the ring and fought. I did it with my head held high and with a broken heart for not having finished the last kilometer."

During a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIi9WEpbO_o">news conference</a> on Aug. 1, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni criticized the IOC's recent decision, saying Carini's boxing bout against Khelif "was not an even contest" from her point of view.

"I think that athletes who have male genetic characteristics should not be admitted to women's competitions," Ms. Meloni said.

"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."

The Algerian Olympic Committee also addressed resurging news of last year's disqualification in a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/olympics-2024-boxing-gender-4b6eb881cce9c34484d30c68ad979127">statement</a> on July 31. It said it condemned what it termed "unethical targeting and maligning of [Algeria's] esteemed athlete, Imane Khelif, with baseless propaganda from certain foreign media outlets."

<em>Reuters contributed to this report.</em>

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