A boxer who was previously banned from competing in the world championships because she failed testosterone and gender eligibility tests has won her opening Olympic bout after her opponent quit.
Algeria’s Imane Khelif won in just 46 seconds after the Italian Angela Carini quit in the 66kg category.
The pair had only a few punch exchanges before Carini abandoned the bout – an extremely unusual occurrence in Olympic boxing. Carini’s headgear apparently became dislodged twice before she quit.
The Italian refused to shake Khelif’s hand after the decision was announced, and she cried in the ring before leaving.
Khelif was disqualified hours before her gold medal bout at the world championships in New Delhi last year when she failed to meet the International Boxing Association’s (IBA) eligibility criteria.
Algeria’s Olympic committee (COA) previously condemned the “baseless” attacks on Khelif.
“COA strongly condemns the unethical targeting and maligning of our esteemed athlete, Imane Khelif, with baseless propaganda from certain foreign media outlets,” it said in a statement.
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“Such attacks on her personality and dignity are deeply unfair, especially as she prepares for the pinnacle of her career at the Olympics. The COA has taken all necessary measures to protect our champion.”
Italy’s family minister Eugenia Roccella said on Wednesday: “It is surprising that there are no certain, strict, uniform criteria at the international level.”
She added that it was strange “that there can be a suspicion, and far more than a suspicion, of an unfair and potentially dangerous contest for one of the contenders at the Olympics, an event that symbolises sporting fairness”.
Meanwhile Lin Yu-ting of Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) will take on Uzbekistan’s Sitora Turdibekova in the 57kg event on Friday.
Double world champion Lin lost her bronze medal at the world championships after she failed to meet the organisers’ criteria.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) spokesperson Mark Adams defended its decision to allow the women to compete earlier this week, saying: “I would just say that everyone competing in the women’s category is complying with the competition eligibility rules.
“They are women in their passports and it is stated that is the case.”
He added it would be “invidious and unfair” to discuss details of individual athletes.
The IBA, which is not involved in the organisation of the Olympics, released a statement questioning why the women have been allowed to compete in Paris.
It added that the women had been banned from the world championships in the interest of fairness and safety.
The IBA was stripped of its status as the global governing body for boxing by the IOC in June last year because it failed to complete reforms on governance, finance and ethical issues.
Boxing at the Paris Games is being run by officials appointed by the IOC, which said it is using rule books based on the version that applied at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
Since the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, sports bodies including World Aquatics, World Athletics and the International Cycling Union have updated their gender rules.
They now ban athletes who went through male puberty from competing in women’s events.
The track body also last year tightened rules on athletes with differences in sex development.
They include two-time Olympic 800 metre champion Caster Semenya, who has not been allowed to compete in any distance between 400 metre and the mile since 2018 unless she maintains lower testosterone levels, which requires medication.
She appeared at the European Court of Human Rights in May to continue her challenge against World Athletics. The case is still being considered.
