HT5. Emotional words that Algerian boxer said after guaranteeing medal following gender eligibility controversy

Imane Khelif appeared emotional at the Olympics on Saturday (3 August) after a quarter-final win guaranteed her a medals.

The Algerian boxer has been at the centre of gender eligibility row in Paris following her win over Angela Carini on Thursday (1 August).

Carini abandoned the welterweight round of 16 bout after just 46 seconds, but that only tells half the story.

The Italian fighter explained in a later interview that she ‘didn’t succeed’ because she simply ‘couldn’t fight anymore’.

Khelif faced Hungarian Anna Luca Hamori on Saturday, a fight that did go the full distance.

Winning on an unanimous points decision, five judges scored each of the three rounds for Khelif.

After the fight, the Algerian appeared emotional as she had her native flag wrapped around her back while speaking to the world’s media.

“I dedicate this medal to the world, and to all the Arabs and I tell you, ‘Long live Algeria!’” she told reporters following the fight.

“I want to tell the entire world that I am a female, and I will remain a female,” the boxer added.

After progressing to the semi-finals in Paris, Khelif is guaranteed at least a bronze medal.

The journey to Olympic success has been far from smooth for the Algerian however.

Khelif was disqualified from the 2023 IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships after she failed an unspecified gender eligibility test.

This was due to elevated levels of testosterone, the International Boxing Association claimed at the time.

Reuters reports Khelif failed because IBA eligibility rules prevent athletes with XY chromosomes from competing in women’s competition.

Nonetheless, the International Olympic Committee have stood by the decision that Khelif is eligible to compete in this year’s Olympics.

IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said: “Everyone competing in the women’s category is complying with the competition eligibility rules.

“They are women in their passports, and it’s stated that this is the case that they are female.”

Khelif has previously described her disqualification as a ‘conspiracy’, while her father, Amar Khelif, dubbed the attacks on his daughter as ‘immoral’.

He told Reuters: “It is not fair. She made us proud many times, she honored our country and our flag many times and she always made us happy with her results.

“These critics aim to destabilize her to fail in the wrestling ring but she is a champion and she will remain a champion.”

As for Carini, she’s received a huge offer from social media influencer turned boxer Jake Paul, which could see her fight on one of his cards in the future.

A lip reader has revealed what they believe boxer Angela Carini said when she walked out of the Olympic ring against Imane Khelif after just 46 seconds.

Yesterday (1 August) Italy’s Angela Carini stepped into the boxing ring at the 2024 Paris Olympics against Algeria’s Imane Khelif as part of the women’s 66kg category. However, Carini decided to bow out not even in a minute in.

After only several punches were thrown and her headgear having already become dislodged, Carini grew emotional in the ring and ultimately decided to walk away, not shaking her opponent’s hand when it was later ruled Khelif won.

Speaking out after the fight, Carini said she stopped because she simply ‘couldn’t fight anymore’.

She added: “I put an end to the match because after the second blow, after years of experience in the ring and a life of fighting, I felt a strong pain in my nose.

“I said ‘that’s enough’ because […] I could not bring the match to an end. So I thought, maybe it’s better to put an end to the match.”

And a lip reader has since revealed what they believe Carini said shortly after deciding to withdraw from the fight, just before she stepped out of the ring.

A lip-reader told Gazzetta dello Sport after Carini was punched by Khelif, she briefly stopped due to a problem with her helmet.

However, she then raised her hand and returned to her corner and decided to leave the fight.

She then reportedly turned to her support in the corner and said: “It hurt like hell.”

The match has faced intense scrutiny online as a result of Khelif previously being disqualified in last year’s IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships in New Delhi – organized by the International Boxing Association – for failing a testosterone level test, IBA’s website states.

However, it’s not been publicly released what the test consisted of and no further details have been given, the BBC reports.

What’s more, the International Olympic Committee said in a statement: “All athletes participating in the boxing tournament of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 comply with the competition’s eligibility and entry regulations, as well as all applicable medical regulations in accordance with rules 1.4 and 3.1 of the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit.”

IOC spokesperson, Mark Adams said: “These boxers are entirely eligible – they are women on their passports. It’s not helpful to start stigmatising people like this.

“We all have a responsibility not to turn it into some kind of witch-hunt.”

A women’s featherweight world champion, who has fought the Olympian boxer making all the headlines right now, has spoken out.

Algeria’s Imane Khelif’s fight against Italian boxer Angela Carini at the Olympics on Thursday (1 August) has been a huge talking point across the world.

After just a few punches and 46 seconds of action, Carini abandoned the welterweight 16 round bout altogether.

The Italian boxer even refused to shake Khelif’s hand and appeared to get emotional in the ring before she left.

She explained in a later interview that she ‘didn’t succeed’ because she simply ‘couldn’t fight anymore’.

Khelif was disqualified from the boxing world championships last year after she failed a gender eligibility test due to what the International Boxing Association claimed were elevated levels of testosterone.

Reuters lifted the lid on the situation, reporting Khelif failed due to IBA eligibility rules preventing athletes with XY chromosomes from competing in women’s events.

The International Olympic Committee has different rules for the games, however, and have reaffirmed Khelif is eligible to take part in the Olympics.

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

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

Khelif has always competed in the women’s division in boxing and is recognized by the IOC as a female athlete.

Featherweight world champion Skye Nicolson has come out and defended Khelif and fellow boxer Lin Yu-Ting.

Nicolson revealed in a video posted to her Instagram Story that she has fought and sparred with both of them.

The boxer has reaffirmed that both Khelif and Yu-Ting were born female, and has hit out at those criticising the pair.

She said: “I just want to clarify a couple of things: 1. I’ve actually fought and sparred both of the girls. They were born female.

“They were born with an XY chromosome, which is the male chromosome, but they were born with female bodies. They have the physical attributes of a female.”

She added: “They have grown up as girls, as females, as women. They have competed as women the whole time.

“These are not naturally born men who have decided to call themselves women or identify as women to fight women in the Olympics.”

In the wake of the controversial fight, the Olympic Committee has issued a lengthy response to all the noise.

The Olympic boxer that is making all the headlines right now after her controversial 46 second bout is not untouchable.

And the fighter who previously beat Imane Khelif spoke out prior to the latter’s victory against Angela Carini in Paris.

The Olympic fight was very much short-lived as the pair only exchanged a few punches before Carini abandoned the fight altogether less than a minute in.

Carini’s headgear appeared to become dislodged twice before she called it quits, and things weren’t much better afterwards.

Remarkably, the Italian even refused to shake Khelif’s hand after she was announced as winner in Paris.

There has been a lot of talk surrounding Khelif’s involvement in the Olympics as a result of her disqualification from the World Championships in 2023 due to the failure of an unspecified gender eligibility test.

After her display on Thursday (1 August), you’d certainly be within your right to think Khelif has never lost a bout.

However, that is far from the case, and one boxer who has beaten Olympian in the past is Amy Broadhurst.

The British fighter beat the Algerian in 2022, and she recently gave her take on the situation in Paris.

She wrote on Twitter: “Have a lot of people texting me over Imane Khelif. Personally I don’t think she has done anything to ‘cheat’.

“I thinks it’s the way she was born & that’s out of her control. The fact that she has been [beaten] by 9 females before says it all.”

Broadhurst was the 2022 IBA World Light-welterweight champion and had hoped to be at the Paris Olympics.

But after being selected for Team GB, she got knocked out in the qualifying rounds.

As for Khelif, the International Boxing Association claimed she had elevated levels of testosterone at the time of her disqualification last year.

The athlete failed due to the IBA eligibility rules preventing athletes with XY chromosomes from competing in women’s events, according to a report by Reuters.

But with the Olympics run by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), a different set of rules apply.

Prior to the Paris games they ultimately ruled Khelif eligible to compete.

The sporting body came out on Tuesday (30 July) to defend Khelif’s rights to compete.

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

“They are women in their passports, and it’s stated that this is the case that they are female.”

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’.

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.

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.

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

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.

“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.”