After the controversial fight when Algerian boxer Imane Khelif beat Angela Carini of Italy in 46 seconds, the latter was distraught after the contest saying that “I have never been hit so hard in my life. It’s up to the IOC to judge” per The New York Post. The aftermath of the fight would spark a debate on social media about the gender of Khelif, an event that Carini apologized for saying that “if the IOC said she can fight, I respect that decision” according to BBC.com
“All this controversy makes me sad,” Carini said via an Italian newspaper called Gazzetta dello Sport. “I’m sorry for my opponent, too. If the IOC said she can fight, I respect that decision.”
Carini said she was “angry” since she lost in the Olympics to Khelif
Despite the conversation surrounding the gender of Khelif claiming she is a man or transgender, it has been proven that she was biologically born and identifies as a woman. This was even further confirmed from IOC spokesperson Mark Adams Friday per BBC.
“The Algerian boxer was born female, was registered female, lived her life as a female, boxed as a female, has a female passport,” Adams said.
She does have a condition where her body produces a high level of testosterone per Politico as Carini further states her apology that she wants to say sorry to Khelif as he “Olympics had gone up in smoke.”
“It wasn’t something I intended to do,” Carini said. “Actually, I want to apologize to her and everyone else. I was angry because my Olympics had gone up in smoke.”
The IOC firmly stands behind Khelif amidst gender debate
The topic surrounding Khelif’s gender was also fueled when it was found out that she “failed to meet gender eligibility tests at the Women’s World Boxing Championships in New Delhi last year” according to NBC News. However, the IOC would go on to defend such athletes like Khelif and other instance in Lin Yu‑ting of Taiwan who both have failed those aforementioned tests.
On the other hand, the IOC would firmly stand behind the two athletes and even call out these tests done by the IBA as being faulty. They would release a statement Thursday saying that these two women “have been competing in international boxing competitions for many years.”
“The two athletes have been competing in international boxing competitions for many years in the women’s category, including the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, International Boxing Association (IBA) World Championships and IBA-sanctioned tournaments,” the statement read.
“The current aggression against these two athletes is based entirely on this arbitrary decision, which was taken without any proper procedure,” the IOC continued in their statement. “Especially considering that these athletes had been competing in top-level competition for many years.”
At the end of the day, the fact is that the Khelif is a woman and will further participate in future competition in the current Paris Olympics as her next fight will be against Anna Luca Hamori of Hungary.
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