Imane Khelif, Boxer at Center of Olympic Gender Controversy, Forces First Opponent to Quit 46 Seconds into Fight

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif was at the eye of a storm of controversy as the 2024 Paris Olympics boxing tournament got underway. It took only 46 seconds of brief but intense fighting before Khelif’s opponent, Angela Carini from Italy, retreated from the match set against her in the divisional 66-kilogram category.

It was clearly going to be a short contest, and it ended—well, just about—at that point with Carini visibly shaken after two solid digs into the face from Khelif. A flustered Carini backpedaled to her corner, “This ain’t right,” before slamming her headgear onto the canvas in frustration.

Tensions spilled over into the post-match, as Carini refused Khelif’s handshake before pulling away from the referee when he was announced as the winner. In a tearful 20-minute interview after the fight, Carini said: “I’ve never taken a punch like that; it’s impossible to continue. I’m nobody to say it’s illegal.”

So fast was the performance that debates which circle around Khelif’s eligibility have resurfaced. Khelif failed the gender eligibility tests before competing at the 2023 World Championships and it had put a question mark over her chances of participating in the Olympics.

Carini’s coach, Emanuel Renzini, revealed that there had been attempts to dissuade Carini from participation in the fight due to safety concerns. “Many people in Italy tried to call and tell her: ‘Don’t go please: It’s a man, it’s dangerous for you,'” Renzini reported.

The International Olympic Committee had earlier defended allowing Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting to compete after the two boxers were disqualified from the world championships. The IOC said athletes participating at the Paris 2024 boxing tournament meet all requirements in terms of eligibility, entry, and medical considerations.

The move only underlines, at this stage, a long-term escalation of the row between the IOC and the beleaguered AIBA, wracked by governance and integrity issues. For the second successive Summer Games, the IOC took control of the Olympic boxing events, using rules based on those from the 2016 Rio Olympics.

As the tournament advances, so does the divided opinion within the boxing community regarding the fairness and safety of implications of Khelif’s participation—a set-up for continued debate throughout the Paris Olympics.