The IBA will reward Italian Carini “like an Olympic champion”

Paris. The International Boxing Association (IBA) has announced that it will financially reward “like an Olympic champion” Italian Angela Carini, who withdrew from her fight against Algerian Imane Khelif, one of the two boxers at the centre of a gender controversy at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The controversy erupted last Thursday after Khelif’s first opponent, Carini, retired in tears after just 46 seconds of fighting, during which she received several strong blows to the face.

The Algerian then approached to shake her hand, but Carini, hurt, avoided the greeting. “I couldn’t go on. My nose hurt so much that I said: ‘Stop’. It was better not to continue,” said the Italian. “I have always fought against men, I train with my brother, but today I felt too much pain,” she explained.

Images of the fight quickly spread on social media, with sports figures such as Martina Navratilova and politicians from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to former US President Donald Trump criticising the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) authorisation for Khelif’s participation.

The Algerian and another boxer, Taiwanese Lin Yu-ting (-57 kg), were admitted to the Games by the IOC even though they had been excluded by the IBA from the 2022 and 2023 World Championships for failing a gender test.

In a statement released on Friday, IBA President Umar Kremlev of Russia gave his support to Carini.

“Only eligible athletes should participate for safety reasons. I don’t understand why women’s boxing is being killed,” Kremlev said, referring to the IOC, with which the IBA is locked in conflict over several issues.

The IBA has decided to allocate 100,000 dollars (about 92,000 euros) for all of its gold medals, of which 25,000 will go to the national federation and 25,000 to the coaches. It has pledged to pay Carini “as if she were an Olympic champion.”

Imane Khelif will face Hungarian Anna Luca Hamori in the quarterfinals this Saturday.

The Hungarian Olympic Committee has asked the IOC to “clarify” the conditions for the participation of the 25-year-old Algerian, who already competed in the Tokyo Games three years ago.