The women's 1/8 final boxing match in the weight category up to 66 kg ended in scandal. Italian boxer Angela Carini was forced to withdraw from the fight after 46 seconds of a fight against a transgender woman from Algeria Iman Khelif.
The British newspaper The Telegraph called the incident with the admission of a transgender person to women's boxing competitions “one of the most shameful episodes in the history of the Olympic Games”.
Scandal at the 2024 Olympics in women's boxing
Karini claimed that she received such a strong blow during the night from Helif that she “could no longer breathe”. The Italian claimed that she had never received such strong blows.
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The first punch ripped her chin off, and the second shattered her chin and bloodied her shorts.
“My heart is broken. I entered the ring to honor my father. I was told many times that I was a warrior, but I chose to stop for the sake of my health. I have never felt a punch like that,” said Karini.
When asked if it would have been better to quit early, Karini said she was not one to give up, but added that she felt too much pain in her nose and said enough. The Italian also said that it was up to her to decide whether Khelif should be banned from women's competitions.
The head of the Italian government also spoke out about the situation Giorgia Meloni. The politician believes that transgender people should not be allowed to compete in women's competitions.
— I believe that athletes who have male genetic characteristics should not be allowed to compete in women's competitions. And not because you want to discriminate against anyone, but to protect the right of female athletes to compete on equal terms, — said Melony.
The International Olympic Committee has previously been criticized for allowing Khelif and Chinese Taipei's Lin Yu-ting to compete in the women's category at these Games.
Lin will face Uzbekistan's Sitora Turdibekova in a featherweight bout in Paris on Friday.
Both athletes were disqualified from the 2023 Women's World Championships after failing testosterone and gender identity tests. They were reportedly excluded because they had male XY chromosomes.
