Italian boxer Angela Carini suddenly apologized to boxer Imane Khelif for doubting her gender.
The match between Imane Khelif (Algeria) and Angela Carini (Italy) in the 1/8 round of the 66kg singles women’s Olympic boxing event was too different. The match only lasted for just… 46 seconds.
With tremendous strength, Imane Khelif appeared to overwhelm her opponent. After only 46 seconds, she threw two very strong punches into Angela Carini’s face. In the end, the Italian boxer asked to give up. She knelt on the floor and sobbed.
After the match, Angela Carini expressed her doubts about Imane Khelif’s gender. She shared: “I don’t know if she is female or male. The final decision belongs to the International Olympic Committee. I feel like I have never been punched so painfully in my life.”
In fact, last year, Algerian boxer Imane Khelif was disqualified from the women’s world boxing championship in New Delhi (India) because she failed to pass a DNA test. The organizers discovered XY chromosomes in this athlete’s genome.
A few days after the match, Angela Carini suddenly apologized to Imane Khelif for questioning her gender. She shared with Gazzetta dello Sport: “I’m sad about the recent controversies and I also feel sorry for my opponent. She has nothing to do with this.
I intentionally did not shake Imane Khelif’s hand when I lost. I want to apologize to her and everyone. At that time, I was angry about being eliminated from the Olympics. If I meet again, I will hug Imane Khelif.”
Imane Khelif’s father, Mr. Omar Khelif, affirmed: “My child is a girl. She develops like a normal girl. She is a strong girl. I raised her to always be hardworking and brave. That is the girl “He has a strong will. My child won against his Italian opponent simply because he was stronger.”
Faced with strong attacks from the press in the past few days, Imane Khelif affirmed: “I am not afraid. I do not care about attacks from the press and social networks.”
