Handshake refused

Male boxer? Opponent gives up in tears

Angela Carini is devastated.

(Bild: AFP)

After the mega excitement of her start at the Olympics, Imane Khelif fought her first fight in Paris on Thursday. Her opponent gave up in tears after just 46 seconds.

As reported, two female boxers, Algerian Khelif and Taiwanese Lin Yu-ting, who were banned from the World Championships just a year ago, will be allowed to compete at the Summer Games. They had failed the IBA's sex test: too much testosterone.

(Bild: AP)

A year later, things look different. Khelif boxes in the 66-kilo category, his colleague Lin in the 57-kilo category. A year ago they were still too masculine for women's boxing, but now they are feminine enough. Why? Because the IOC, unlike the IBA, does not publish the results of gender tests. Instead, it simply announced that the two were eligible to compete.

Handshake refused
Khelif's first fight on Thursday against Angela Carini was over after just a few seconds. After a hard hit on the nose, the Italian gave up in tears. After the fight, she refused to shake hands with her opponent.

Angela Carini refuses to shake Imane Khelif's hand.

(Bild: AP)

"I got into the ring to give it my all. I'm not interested in the person standing in front of me at that moment. The pain in my nose was too strong. I could no longer breathe," Carini reported.

Carini's coach said in an initial reaction: "I don't want to judge for the IOC and I know that the subject is difficult, but this fight was unfair."

This is how the IOC reacted
The IOC justified its decision by saying that Khelif and another athlete have been allowed to take part in boxing competitions for many years, including the Summer Games in Tokyo. Only an "arbitrary decision without due process" by the boxing association IBA had led to the current aggression against the athlete, the IOC said in a statement. The International Olympic Committee also pointed out that the IBA had been suspended.