A Boxer whose gender identity has recently been questioned. won her first fight at the Paris Olympics On Thursday, 1st August. Imane Khelif and Angela Carini had a few brisk punches in 46 seconds of competition in the Paris ring. Carini didn’t shake Khelif’s hand after the referee finally raised it, but she cried in the ring after sinking to her knees. Imane Khelif of Algeria defeated Angela Carini of Italy after Carini quit 46 seconds into the match.
Khelif was disqualified from the 2023 world championships after failing an unspecified gender eligibility test and her presence at the Paris Olympics has become a divisive issue.
“I just did my job as a boxer, ” said Carini. “I got into the ring and fought. I did it with my head held high and a broken heart for not having finished the last kilometer”. Carini further said she is not qualified to decide whether Khelif should be allowed to complete it. Several American politicians, including former president Donald Trump, Sen Marco Rubio, R-Fla, and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, also shared their views on the match reason ‘Khelif Controversy at Paris Olympics 2024. “I WILL KEEP MEN OUT OF WOMEN’S SPORTS”, Trump wrote on his social media site.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told reporters during a visit to the Olympic village. She said “We have to pay attention, in an attempt to not discriminate, that we are discriminating against women. In these things what counts is your dedication, your head and character but it also counts having a party of arms”.
Meloni wrote, “I know you won’t give up, Angela and I know one day you will win what you deserve with effort and sweat. In a competition that is finally equal”.
Khelif is an accomplised amateur who won a silver medal at the international Boxing Associations 2022 World Championship. The same governing body disqualified her from last year’s championships shortly before her gold medal match because of what it claimed were elevated levels of testosterone. Khelif from Tiaret, Algeria born in 1999, has been boxing since she was a child and has always competed in women’s categories.
Imane khelif controversy at Paris Olympics (Her Journey):-
- She competed in the Women’s World Boxing Championships in New Delhi in 2018 (finishing in 17th place).
- Competed in Russia the following year.
- She competed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
- She finished second in the 2022 Women’s World Championship In Istanbul.
But, In the 2023 World Cup, organised by the International Boxing Association. The Russia-led IBA disqualified Khelif after a gender eligibility test allegedly found she has XY Chromosomes. IBA President Umar Kremlev released a statement to Russia’s TASS agency about the disqualification of Khelif. Kremlev said ” Based on a DNA test, we identified several athletes who tried to trick their colleagues into posing as women. According to the results of the tests, it was proved that they have XY Chromosomes, and such athletes were excluded from competition.
Khelif could clinch an Olympic medal with a victory in her quarter-final bout on Saturday against Anna Lucca Hamoli, Hungari’s first Olympic Women’s Boxer.
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