Boxing

International Boxing Association to award prize money to Italy’s Carini despite loss to Algeria’s Khelif

International Olympic Committee is at the centre of a row over two athletes’ eligibility to compete in women’s events

Imane Khelif (L) of Algeria is declared the winner after Angela Carini of Italy abandoned their bout in the women's welterweight round of 16 boxing competition in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on Thursday. Photograph: Yahya Arhab/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Sat Aug 03 2024 - 00:09

The International Boxing Association (IBA) will award Italy’s Angela Carini, who lost her welterweight round-of-16 bout against Algerian Imane Khelif at the Paris Olympics in 46 seconds on Thursday, $50,000 in prize money, it said on Friday.

Carini pulled out in the first round after the Algerian, who is at the heart of a gender row, pummelled the Italian with a barrage of punches.

The IBA, which was stripped of its international recognition by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) last year, said Carini would receive $50,000, her federation a further $25,000 and her coach an additional $25,000.

“I do not understand why they killed women’s boxing,” IBA president Umar Kremlev said. “Only eligible athletes should compete in the ring for the sake of safety. I could not look at her tears.”

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Algeria's Khelif, and Taiwan double world champion Lin Yu-ting, were cleared to compete in Paris despite being disqualified at the 2023 World Championships after failing IBA eligibility rules that prevent athletes with male XY chromosomes competing in women's events.

The IOC last year stripped the IBA of its status as boxing's governing body over governance issues, and took charge of the Paris 2024 boxing competition itself, but now finds itself at the centre of a row over the pair's participation.

Welterweight Khelif next takes on Hungary's Luca Anna Hamori.

The IOC said the IBA decision to disqualify the boxers last year was arbitrary and the main cause for the furore that has seen people such as British author JK Rowling and billionaire Elon Musk voice their opposition to them competing in the Games.

Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni, who met IOC president Thomas Bach on Thursday, said the Italian athlete had faced a boxer who had physical advantages and it was not a fight between equals.

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.

Differences of Sexual Disorder (DSD) are a group of rare conditions involving genes, hormones and reproductive organs. Some people with DSDs are raised as female but have XY sex chromosomes and blood testosterone levels in the male range.

The IOC said the rules of eligibility were based on those of the Tokyo Games in 2021 and could not be changed during a competition.

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2024