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Algeria’s Imane Khelif, right, defeated, Italy’s Angela Carini in their women’s 66kg preliminary boxing match
Italian boxer Angela Carini appeared before the world media with a broken nose on Thursday August 1, the result of a powerful punch from Algerian Imane Khelif. Khelif had faced disqualification from the world championships a year ago due to a failed gender eligibility test. Yet, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) authorised Khelif to participate in the 2024 Olympic Games.
Carini took just two hits during the fight — both right-hand punches in the first round. The first punch broke the chin strap of her headgear, while the second hit directly on her nose. Her Olympic journey lasted 46 seconds, leaving her devastated. In the mixed zone, she cried, admitting she had never been hit so hard.
Her blue tunic bore its own testimony, marked with red stains around the waistband where the blood from her nose had collected.
Carini’s pain fuels eligibility debate
The IOC’s decision not to accept the International Boxing Association’s findings, which indicated that last year’s testing on Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting found X-Y (male) chromosomes instead of X-X (female), and higher testosterone levels consistent with male biology, raises significant concerns. Sports analysts say, perhaps Carini’s account of her encounter with a DSD (differences of sexual development) athlete will prompt a reconsideration of Khelif’s eligibility.
“I couldn’t continue the match because the pain in my nose was unbearable. I decided to stop, realising it was better to avoid further injury. From the first hit, my nose started bleeding. It takes maturity to make such decisions, and I believe it was the right one. I wanted to go the distance for my father, but I just couldn’t,” Carini said.
“Given my experience and the maturity I’ve gained as a woman, I told myself, for my country and my father, not to be disappointed in me, but I needed to stop. I made that decision for my own well-being. Even though it could have been the most important match of my life, I had to prioritise my health. It was something I felt I had to do. I wasn’t afraid — not of the ring or getting hit,” she said.
The Italian boxer mentioned that she frequently trains with her brother. But on this day, the pain was too much to bear.
The fight had been beaten out of her. Clearly distraught, she was led away from her media conference by a member of the Italian delegation.
IOC’s gender policy under fire
The circumstances of Carini’s defeat represent one of the worst possible outcomes for the IOC, which now appears either complacent or negligent in its handling of the gender issue. In a statement, it said that the athletes should adhered to “the competition’s eligibility and entry regulations, as well as all relevant medical regulations.”
What those regulations might be, the IOC has not clarified, leaving the International Boxing Association’s findings as the only available evidence. The International Boxing Association, however, was banned by the IOC last June over governance and corruption issues.
Typically, testing at the Olympics is managed by the relevant sporting federations. However, when a suitable alternative is not available, the IOC assumes the role of regulator, as it did during the Tokyo Olympics.
The issue is further complicated by the lack of clarity surrounding the degree to which boxers are tested, other than producing a passport-stamped female. Algeria’s Olympic Committee has condemned Khelif’s treatment as unfair, arguing that her exclusion from the world championships in Delhi was politically motivated to deny Algeria victory. Although she initially challenged that decision at the Court of Arbitration, Khelif later withdrew her appeal.
And now, this — two powerful right-hand punches that, for those who doubted, served as compelling evidence in the ongoing debate over Khelif’s right to compete.
First Published: Aug 02 2024 | 2:17 PM IS
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