Angela Carini may get $50K award after Olympic boxing loss to Imane Khelif amid gender controversy

Italy’s Angela Carini could be awarded $50,000 by the International Boxing Association after her controversial withdrawal against Algeria’s Imane Khelif in the women’s welterweight class at the Paris Olympics, according to the Associated Press.

Carini’s decision to quit her round-of-16 match after she was pummeled through the first 46 seconds sparked a gender debate around Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting.

Like Yu-ting, Khelif was disqualified at the 2023 world championships “after her elevated levels of testosterone failed to meet the eligibility criteria,” according to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) database.

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An IOC spokesperson previously said Khelif is eligible for the Olympics, citing identification as female on her passport as the standard to meet.

The Russa-operated IBA, which oversees the world championships, and the IOC split off last year and have different eligibility standards.

The IBA announced its intention to split a $100,000 pot among Carini, her national boxing federation ($25,000) and her coach ($25,000).

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“I do not understand why they [IOC] killed women’s boxing,” IBA president Umar Kremlev said. “Only eligible athletes should compete in the ring for the sake of safety. I could not look at [Carini’s] tears.”

Both Yu-ting and Khelif competed in women’s boxing for years before their disqualification in 2023.

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Carini apologized for causing the uproar that has placed Khelif’s gender in the spotlight during an interview with Gazetta dello Sport of Italy.

“All this controversy certainly made me sad, and I also felt sorry for my opponent – she had nothing to do with it and like me was only here to fight,” Carini said.

“It was not intentional, in fact I apologize to her and to everyone. I was angry, because my Games had already gone up in smoke. I have nothing against Khelif and on the contrary if I happened to meet her again I would give her a hug.”

The IBA previously announced a plan to give $3.1 million to medal winners in Paris even though it is no longer associated with the Olympics.

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