Algeria’s Imane Khelif, proper, defeated, Italy’s Angela Carini of their ladies’s 66kg preliminary boxing match on the Paris Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photograph/John Locher)
PARIS — Italian boxer Angela Carini got here to the Paris Olympics aiming for a medal to honor her late father and coach, who died shortly after she participated within the Tokyo Video games three years in the past.
However Carini’s efficiency in Paris lasted simply 46 seconds Thursday earlier than she deserted her bout in opposition to Algerian opponent Imane Khelif, with a spot of blood on her trunks.
READ: Imane Khelif, boxer in gender check situation, wins first Paris Olympics battle
Despite the fact that Carini mentioned she wasn’t making a political assertion about Khelif, who was disqualified from final 12 months’s world championships after failing an unspecified gender eligibility check, the transfer reopened debate about Khelif’s standing.
Who’s Angela Carini?
The 25-year-old Carini competes within the 66-kilogram (145.5-pound) class, in any other case often called welterweight. She gained silver medals at each the world and European championships in 2019.
She was additionally a gold medalist on the European youth championships. She misplaced her opening battle in Tokyo.
READ: At Paris Olympics, feminine designation in passport key for boxers
Carini’s nickname, “tiger,” was given to her by her father, Giuseppe.
What’s her background?
Carini was an Italian champion in clay pigeon taking pictures earlier than she switched to boxing. She made the swap to comply with her brother, who additionally left taking pictures for boxing.
“My brother and my father taught me boxing,” Carini mentioned. “I owe every little thing to them.”
What occurred in her battle in opposition to Khelif?
Algeria’s Imane Khelif, left, fights Italy’s Angela Carini of their ladies’s 66kg preliminary boxing match on the 2024 Summer time Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photograph/John Locher)
Carini exchanged a number of brisk punches earlier than abandoning her bout — an especially uncommon prevalence in Olympic boxing. Carini didn’t shake Khelif’s hand after the referee formally raised it. She cried within the ring after sinking to her knees.
Her actions sparked a dialogue far past Paris about whether or not Khelif ought to have been allowed to compete after failing an unspecified gender eligibility check from the now-banned Worldwide Boxing Affiliation. Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni mentioned the difficulty with IOC president Thomas Bach throughout a gathering in Paris on Friday.
The IOC has repeatedly defended Khelf’s proper to compete this week.
“Regardless of our requests to have certainties and ensures, each for the protection of our athlete and for the regularity of the competitors, they’ve confirmed that (Khelif) is inside these parameters,” Italian Olympic Committee president Giovanni Malagò mentioned.
Why did she give up?
Afterward, a still-tearful Carini mentioned she give up due to the ache from Khelif’s opening punches, including that her nostril bled afterward.
“My face and nostril had been hurting,” Carini mentioned, in accordance with the Italian sports activities each day Gazzetta dello Sport. “I couldn’t breathe anymore. I considered my household, I checked out my brother within the stands and I went to my nook to retire. … I’ve by no means been hit with such a robust punch.”
Carini added that it wasn’t a pre-meditated transfer.
“All this controversy makes me unhappy,” Carini mentioned. “I’m sorry for my opponent, too. … If the IOC mentioned she will battle, I respect that call.”
Carini was apologetic for not shaking Khelif’s hand after the bout.
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“It wasn’t one thing I meant to do,” Carini mentioned. “Really, I need to apologize to her and everybody else. I used to be indignant as a result of my Olympics had gone up in smoke. I don’t have something in opposition to Khelif. Really, if I had been to fulfill her once more I might embrace her.”
Comply with Inquirer Sports activities’ particular protection of the Paris Olympics 2024.
