Olympic boxing: Angela Carini says she wants to apologise to Imane Khelif

🌈 Abstract

The article discusses the controversial participation of Algerian boxer Imane Khelif in the women's boxing event at the Paris Olympics, and the reaction of Italian boxer Angela Carini after abandoning their bout.

🙋 Q&A

[01] Angela Carini's Reaction

1. What did Angela Carini say about her decision to abandon the fight against Imane Khelif?

• Carini said abandoning the fight was a mature step to take, but she expressed regret at not shaking hands with Khelif afterwards.
• Carini said "It wasn't something I intended to do. Actually, I want to apologise to her and everyone else. I was angry because my Olympics had gone up in smoke."
• Carini said if she met Khelif again, she would "embrace her".

2. Why did Carini abandon the fight?

• Carini said she had to abandon the fight to "preserve her life" after taking a punch to the face inside 30 seconds. She went to the corner for her coach to fix her headgear, and after briefly resuming, she returned to her corner once more and stopped the fight.

[02] Imane Khelif's Participation

1. What was the controversy around Imane Khelif's participation in the women's boxing event?

• Khelif was one of two athletes who had been cleared to compete in the women's boxing event, despite having been disqualified from last year's Women's World Championships for failing to meet eligibility criteria.
• The International Boxing Association (IBA) said Khelif "failed to meet the eligibility criteria for participating in the women's competition, as set and laid out in the IBA regulations".
• However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) defended Khelif's right to compete, stating that "The Algerian boxer was born female, was registered female, lived her life as a female, boxed as a female, has a female passport."

2. How did the IOC respond to the controversy?

• The IOC spokesperson, Mark Adams, said that the IOC recognized Khelif as a female athlete and defended her right to compete in the women's boxing event.

3. What was the IBA's response to the controversy?

• The IBA president, Umar Kremlev, said the organization would offer Carini $100,000 (£78,000) - the prize money it is offering gold medallists at the Games. The money would be split, with half going to Carini, a quarter to her trainer, and a quarter to her federation.