An Olympic boxer made headlines when she exited her Paris 2024 fight after just 46 seconds, and now she wishes to apologize to her opponent.
Italian boxer Angela Carini recently spoke out about her bout with Algeria’s Imane Khelif at the Olympics on August 1.
The fight had barely begun, with only a few punches exchanged before Carini decided to withdraw from the welterweight 16 round bout.
Carini left the ring without shaking Khelif’s hand and appeared visibly emotional. She later explained her actions, saying she ‘didn’t succeed’ because she simply ‘couldn’t fight anymore’.
She confessed to reporters that she had never been struck so hard in her career prior to her fight against Khelif.
This walkout comes after Khelif was disqualified from the boxing world championships in 2023 when she failed a gender eligibility test due to what the International Boxing Association cited as elevated testosterone levels.
Reuters reported that she failed because IBA eligibility rules bar athletes with XY chromosomes from participating in women’s events.
Nevertheless, the International Olympic Committee has confirmed Khelif’s eligibility for the Olympics. Khelif has consistently competed in the women’s division and is recognized as a female athlete by the IOC.
“Everyone competing in the women’s category is complying with the competition eligibility rules,” IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said.
“They are women in their passports, and it’s stated that this is the case that they are female,” he added.
The IOC noted that the eligibility rules for Paris 2024 align with those used in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
Following the fight, Carini told the Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport that the ‘controversy’ surrounding the bout made her ‘sad’.
“I’m sorry for my opponent, too. If the IOC said she can fight, I respect that decision,” she said.
Carini believes that walking away from the fight was the right and mature decision, though she regrets not shaking hands with Khelif.
“It wasn’t something I intended to do,” Carini continued. “Actually, I want to apologize to her and everyone else. I was angry because my Olympics had gone up in smoke.”
Should she encounter Khelif again, Carini said she would ’embrace her’.
In an interview with BBC Sport, Carini added: “It could have been the match of a lifetime, but I had to preserve my life as well in that moment.”