Fans outraged as Imane Khelif, who failed gender eligibility test last year, wins bout after opponent quits

Imane Khelif’s Paris Olympics 2024 women’s welterweight boxing match against Angela Carini was already in the news before it began, but how it finished has led to a major controversy.

Just last year Khelif from Algeria was disqualified before a gold medal match at the 2023 World Championships for failing International Boxing Association (IBA) eligibility rules that prevent athletes with XY chromosomes from competing in women’s events.

She, however, was cleared for Paris 2024 by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) after it stripped the IBA of international recognition last year over issues related to governance and finance.

If Khelif thought everything was in the past now, a new controversy kicked off on Thursday after Carini abandoned the bout just 46 seconds into the match.

Khelif landed four blows in the first 10 seconds and several more before Carini, who is six centimetres shorter than her opponent, went to her coach after 30 seconds to fix her headgear.

Carini briefly resumed the fight but could not stop Khelif from landing another big punch to the face and the Italian lifted her hand and returned to her corner before her coach signalled she was pulling out.

The footage of Khelif being declared the winner of the bout followed by Carini breaking down in the middle of the ring is going viral across social media.

“I have always honoured my country with loyalty,” Carini said with tears in her eyes. “This time I didn’t succeed because I couldn’t fight anymore. 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.

“You all saw my nose that started bleeding. I didn’t lose tonight, I just surrendered with maturity. I am a mature woman, the ring is my life.

“I’ve always been very instinctive, but when I feel something is not going well, it’s not a surrender but having the maturity to stop.”

Carini wept while talking to reporters before being taken away.

Khelif’s victory leads to social media outrage

Several boxing fans and female social media users took to X to express their support for Carini after the incident. They even slammed IOC for allowing a “biological man” to compete in women’s competition.

Carini also found support from businessman Elon Musk, who replied “absolutely” to a tweet saying: “Men don’t belong in women’s sports #IStandWithAngelaCarini”.

Check out some of the tweets that were made in Carini’s support:

With agency inputs