Why Italy’s Angela Carini abandoned Olympics fight against Imane Khelif after gender controversy: ‘Never been hit so hard’

Italian boxer Angela Carini said she had “never been hit so hard in my life” after abandoning her fight against Algeria’s Imane Khelif in less than a minute Thursday.

Speaking to the media after her 46-second Paris Olympics bout against Khelif — who was prohibited from competing at the 2023 World Championships due to a failed gender eligibility test — Carini said she had “enough” after getting struck in the face.

“I had entered the ring to fight,” Carini said, according to Yahoo Sports . “I didn’t give up, but a punch hurt too much and so I said enough. I go out with my head held high.”

Carini had retreated to her corner during the fight against Khelif and informed her coach, Emanuel Renzini, that she was feeling severe pain on her nose.

At one point, the two-time Olympian lamented in her corner, “This is unjust.”

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“I have never been hit so hard in my life. It’s up to the IOC to judge,” Carini said post-match.

Renzini said some warned Carini not to take the fight.

“I don’t know if her nose is broken. I have to speak with the girl. But many people in Italy tried to call and tell her: “Don’t go please: it’s a man, it’s dangerous for you,” he told reporters after the bout .

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In the days leading up to Thursday’s fight, International Olympic Committee spokesperson Mark Adams addressed Khelif and Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu‑ting, who was also disqualified from last year’s world championships.

“I would just say that everyone competing in the women’s category is complying with the competition eligibility rules,” Adams said. “They are women in their passports and it’s stated that this is the case, that they are female.”

The IOC has been criticized by the IBA (the International Boxing Association) over its relaxed rules at the Games, stating in part , “The IOC’s differing regulations on these matters, in which IBA is not involved, raise serious questions about both competitive fairness and athletes’ safety.”

The IBA was barred from the Olympics last year amid a lengthy “dispute fueled by defying advice and instructions from the IOC,” per the Associated Press .

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Reflecting on Thursday’s match, Carini told reporters she doesn’t consider the withdrawal a “defeat.”

“For me if you go in the ring you have already won, regardless of everything else. I’m not here to judge. It’s not up to be to say if it’s fair or not fair. I just did my job. I managed to leave with my head held high. I’m a mature woman, when I feel I cannot continue, its not giving in, its having the dignity to say enough. I was convinced I would win, I was concentrated, serene. But these punches to the nose hurt, I said enough,” she said, according to The Guardian .

In brief comments, Khelif told BBC, “I am here for gold. I will fight anybody, I will fight them all.”

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