Italy‘s Prime Minister Gieorgia Meloni has lashed out at the International Olympic Committee after female Italian boxer Angela Carini was defeated in just 46 seconds by a rival with high testosterone levels.
A devastated Carini, 25, threw in the towel and hurled her helmet to the floor as the fight with Algerian opponent Imane Khelif was abandoned before yelling: ‘This is unjust.’
Khelif, who had landed two punches in the opening seconds of the clash, has been in the spotlight for failing a gender eligibility test at another tournament last year.
She was, however, ruled eligible to compete in the boxing competition at the Paris Olympics, which is being organised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Italian premier Giorgia Meloni shared her fury at the decision today after Carini was fell to her knees in tears after this morning’s fight.
Meloni (pictured during a meeting in Beijing on Monday) expressed her outrage at the IOC
Italy ‘s Angela Carini,25, dropped to her knees in tears after losing the fight to her Algerian opponent Imane Khelif in just 46 seconds
Imane Khelif (in red) punches Angela Carini in the women’s 66kg preliminaries Ro16 today
The fight was abandoned after Khelif landed two powerful punches
The dejected competitor pauses during her brief fight against Algeria’s Imane Khelif
'It is a fact that with the levels of testosterone present in the blood of the Algerian athlete the race at the start does not seem fair,' she said , adding she has opposed the IOC's stance 'for years'.
'We must be careful, in an attempt not to discriminate, to discriminate.'
'The fact that Angela withdrew makes me even more sad,' she continued. 'I was emotional yesterday when she wrote "I will fight" because in these things dedication, head and character also count. But it also counts to on equal terms.
'This, from my point of view, was not a competition on equal terms.'
Carini's bout with Khelif has been the topic of much discussion in Italy, with the nation's Family Minister Eugenia Roccella and Sports Minister Andrea Abodi voicing concern about the eligibility rules on Wednesday, ahead of the event.
Meloni and her delegation spoke from Paris on their way home from a mission to China to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
She said she had hoped to stop and greet the athletes.
'I think it is the duty of the institutions to be there,' she said. 'Especially for these girls and boys who make sacrifices.'
But the meeting was overshadowed by controversy from Carini's dramatic exit from the fight at 11:20am this morning.
'I have been trying for years to explain that some theses taken to the extreme risk impacting especially on women's rights,' Meloni said in her scathing critique of the IOC's decision.
'I think that athletes who have male genetic characteristics should not be admitted to women's competitions.
'And not to discriminate against anyone but to protect the right of athletes to be able to compete on equal terms.'
Meloni was joined by senior Italian politicians who have unusually expressed opinions on the match-up.
Italy's Family Minister Eugenia Roccella and Sports Minister Andrea Abodi voiced concerns about the eligibility rules on Wednesday.
'It is surprising that there are no certain, strict, uniform criteria at the international level,' Roccella said.
Angela Carini of Team Italy looks on prior to the bout this morning
Imane Khelif of Algeria is seen after her fight against Angela Carini
Carini refused to shake Khelif's hand after the decision was announced, and she cried in the ring before leaving
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'.
Abodi questioned a lack of alignment in 'parameters of minimum hormonal values'.
'In the event that represents the highest values of sport, the safety of female and male athletes must be guaranteed, as well as respect for fair competition,' Abodi added.
'That is not how it will be tomorrow for Angela Carini.'
Khelif is an accomplished amateur who won a silver medal at the International Boxing Association's 2022 world championships.
She has been in the spotlight since being disqualified before a gold medal match at the 2023 World Championships for failing International Boxing Association (IBA) eligibility rules that stop athletes with XY chromosomes competing in women's events.
It cited elevated levels of testosterone in its decision.
She was ruled eligible, however, to compete in Paris, a competition run by the International Olympic Committee.
Some sports have limited the levels of testosterone allowed for athletes competing in women's competition, while others ban everyone who has been through male puberty.
Boxing is run by the IOC in Paris as the IBA is no longer recognised by the IOC as the global sports body following a failure to implement governance and financial reforms.
The IOC has cleared the way for Khelif as well as Taiwan's double world champion Lin Yu-ting, who lost her bronze medal at last year's World Championships after she failed to meet the criteria for the same reason, to compete at the Games.
Khelif entered the arena this morning amid loud cheers from fans waving Algerian flags.
Carini and Khelif had only a few punch exchanges before Carini abandoned the bout, an extremely unusual occurrence in Olympic boxing.
The Italian's headgear apparently became dislodged twice before she quit.
She went to her coach after 30 seconds to fix her headgear but after briefly resuming the fight she returned to her corner and stopped, quickly leaving the ring.
Carini refused to shake Khelif's hand after the decision was announced, and she cried in the ring before leaving.
'I have always honoured my country with loyalty,' Carini said.
'This time I didn't succeed because I couldn't fight anymore. So I put an end to the match.' She did not immediately say why she had abandoned the contest.
Giorgia Meloni speaks to members of the media in Beijing before returning to Paris
Italy's Angela Carini speaks to her team member during the fight
Italy's Angela Carini reacts after she abandoned her fight against Algeria's Imane Khelif
Algeria's Olympic committee (COA) on Wednesday condemned 'baseless' attacks on boxer Imane Khelif amid scrutiny of her participation in the Olympics after her disqualification from a tournament last year for failing a gender eligibility test.
'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.
'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.'
