Women’s Olympics Boxing Sparking Gender Controversy

Imane Khalif vs. Angela Carini Full Fight 2024 Olympic Boxing , youtube

There is a lot of controversy over a women’s Olympic boxing fight between Imane Khelif of Algeria versus Angela Carini of Italy.

Imane Khelif of Algeria won her opening Olympic boxing match August 1  when opponent Angela Carini of Italy called off the fight after only 46 seconds.

The fight consisted of only a few punches before Carini quit. This behavior is rare in Olympic boxing. The Italian’s headgear was knocked around during the match. At the conclusion, Carini fell to her knees and cried. Khelif tried to shake hands; but, Carini opted out of shaking Khelif’s hand.

Back in 2023, Khelif was disqualified for world championships because she failed an unnamed gender eligibility test. It has been said her testosterone levels were too high. Olympics fans are very divided over Khelif’s participation at the Olympics.

After the match, Carini told reporters she stopped due to intense pain in her nasal region after the early punches. She claimed her actions were not political.

She went on to say she is not at liberty to decide if Khelif should be able to fight and concluded that she didn’t have an issue with fighting Khelif.

At birth, Khelif was assigned as a female. Also, her passport marks her as a female, and this is what the International Olympic Committee (IOC) uses to determine boxing eligibility.

Khelif has been known as a decent fighter, competing in highly regarded international events. She’s won gold at a few regional competitions. In the past, Khelif was not considered to be overpowering or a hard puncher for her division.

Khelif was born in 1999 in rural Algeria. She started playing soccer; but, wanted to box instead. Her father did not approve at first. She joined Algeria’s national team in 2018.

Algeria sent Khelif and two other women boxers to the Tokyo Olympics three years ago. Khelif won her first fight; but, lost her second fight to Kellie Harrington of Ireland who ended up winning the gold medal.