Paris Olympics 2024 has been in the news for many reasons. From the controversy over 'The Last Supper' in the opening ceremony to South Korean shooter Kim Yeji's attitude after winning silver in the women's 10m air pistol event to Turkish athletes not wearing shooting gear, these games have made a lot of headlines. However, now an issue has come to the fore, which has raised questions about these games and their organizers to a large extent. This incident happened during the women's boxing event on Thursday. Algerian boxer Iman Khelif won the first round of the Paris Olympics on Thursday after Italy's opponent Angela Carini withdrew after just 46 seconds of the match.
The problem is that Khelif is not an ordinary athlete, many controversies have been involved in her name and despite this, the International Boxing Federation and the International Olympic Committee declared her eligible to play in the Olympics and she took part. Khelif was disqualified after failing a gender test in the 2023 World Championship, after which her presence in Paris has been a topic of discussion. This issue is now attracting the attention of many bigwigs in the country and abroad. From Harbhajan Singh, and Kangana Ranaut to Elon Musk and JK Rowling, everyone has reacted to this issue. Let's know what the whole matter is and why there is a ruckus over it...
What happened during the match?
On August 1, Thursday, Algeria's Iman Khelif faced Italy's Angela Carini in women's 66 kg weight category boxing. This match was a round of 16 and a knockout round. The journey of the losing boxer would have ended there. This was the first match of both of these games. The match was played on August 1 at 3:50 pm Indian time. The first round started and only a few punches were exchanged between Carini and Khelif so Carini decided to leave the match midway, which is a very unusual event in Olympic boxing. Every athlete dreams of an Olympic medal and in such a situation, it was surprising to see her name being pulled out. After this, Carini sat on her knees on the ground and started crying. Carini's headgear was dislodged twice by Khelif's punch, after which she decided to withdraw from the match in just 46 seconds.
Carini then refused to shake hands with Khelif and cried in the ring before leaving. After the match was stopped, the referee raised Khelif's hand in the air, but an emotional Carini moved her hand away from the referee and left. Ignoring the Algerian athlete, Carini again fell on her knees and started crying. After the match, she said that she had never felt such a strong punch in a competition before. Speaking after the match, Carini, saddened by not winning an Olympic medal, said, 'I am used to fighting, but I have never taken a punch like that. It was impossible to continue that match. I am no one to say that Khelif is illegal. I entered the ring to fight, but after the first minute, I did not feel like it. I started feeling a sharp pain in my nose. I did not give up, but one of Khelif's punches hurt me badly and so I said - enough now. I am leaving the Olympics with my head held high.
What statement did Carini give about the match?
Carini said that she was not leaving the match in protest against Khelif's inclusion, but the Olympic Committee should have considered it. Carini was taken for treatment to check the severity of her facial injuries. She had suffered a serious injury to her nose. Carini said, 'I entered the ring and I told myself that I have to play openly against the player in front of me and bring out my talent and defeat him. Honestly, I do not care. I told myself - this is my Olympics. All controversies aside, I just wanted to go ahead and win. I am not one of those who surrender easily. Even if they told me that let's not fight, I would not have accepted it. I am a warrior. My father taught me to be a warrior. When I am in the ring, I use that mindset, a warrior mindset, a winning mindset, but this time it did not happen.
Carini said, 'You all saw my nose which started bleeding. I did not lose tonight, I just surrendered with maturity. I want Khelif to play till the end and he should be happy. I do not judge anyone. I am not here to give judgment. I just entered the ring to fight and my dreams. It did not happen. This is what the Lord wanted and I accept it. I am not in a position to say whether it is right or wrong. I did my job as a boxer, entered the ring, and fought. I did not manage the players, but I am going out with my head held high and with a broken heart. I am a mature woman, this boxing ring is my life. I have always been very spontaneous, but when I feel something is not going right, it is not about surrendering, but about showing maturity and stopping it.
Carini's coach stated Khelif
After the fight, Carini's coach said in the mixed zone, 'I don't know if her nose is broken or not. I have to talk to her. But many people in Italy called her and tried to tell her 'Please don't fight, Khelif is a man, it is dangerous for you.' At the same time, after the match, the Algerian Boxing Federation expressed happiness over Khelif's victory and wrote on Facebook, 'Congratulations to Algerian boxer Iman Khelif, who gave a strong response in the ring after easily defeating Italy's Angelina Carini in less than 46 seconds and qualified for the quarter-finals.' While coming out of the ring, the Algerian boxer said, 'God willing, this was the first victory. God is preparing me for a gold medal.'
Who is Carini?
Carini is an Italian police officer with Fiamme Oro. His mantra is, 'Boxing is a sport that teaches you to have respect for your opponent. It can be a weapon in life, but only for defense. It cannot and should not become abuse. Like any sport, it can instead become a vehicle to vent anger and pain.' khelif's punch would have been unbearable for Carini, who had such views on boxing.
Italy and Algeria face off on the matter.
Statements have also come from Italy and Algeria on this matter. Former world featherweight champion Barry McGuigan, who is now the president of the Professional Boxing Association, said that it was a shocking and pathetic decision to allow a 'man' to fight women. International Boxing Association (IBA) president Umar Kremlev has said that after a series of DNA tests, the association exposed athletes who were trying to fool their colleagues and pretending to be women. Kremlev claimed that the tests proved that they had XY chromosomes and were thus excluded from sporting events. Italian Sports Minister Andrea Abodi expressed concern about khelif's competing but quoted Angela Carini as saying that respecting her opponents was her mantra. The Algerian Olympic Committee condemned the attacks on its boxer after khelif's participation in the Paris Olympics was questioned, calling them baseless.
Who is khelif?
khelif is an amateur boxer who won a silver medal at the International Boxing Association's 2022 World Championship. At last year's World Championship, she was disqualified just before the gold medal match as tests claimed her testosterone levels were high. However, despite her gender test problems, she was given entry into the Olympics amid a huge uproar. Olympic officials at Paris 2024 have accepted her as a woman in their official Games biography. khelif, who participated in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, came under controversy only after failing the tests in New Delhi last year. Some fans wrote on social media that khelif is not transgender, but she has a disorder of development (DSD). Due to this, she produces XY chromosomes and the level of testosterone in the blood is normal like in men.
Another boxer disqualified along with khelif is playing in the Olympics.
Khelif, who is about six feet tall, showed her strength by hitting several powerful punches at the beginning of the three-round competition, but the match was over in less than a minute. Gender eligibility has become an important topic in sports. Many such incidents have happened before khelif. Apart from khelif, another female boxer from Taiwan, Lin Yu-Ting was also disqualified from the 2023 Women's Boxing World Championships for failing the gender eligibility test. She was even stripped of her medal. Lin is also playing in the 57-weight category in Paris. The International Olympic Committee has recognized both of them by saying that she is registered as a woman in the passport, so she is eligible to play in women's boxing. International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams said, "Every athlete competing in the women's category is following the competition eligibility rules. They are women in their passports." Defending his decision to approve khelif and Lin as women, IOC's Adams said, "These athletes have competed many times before, over many years. They have not just suddenly arrived."
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