Olympic boxer withdraws from fight after just 46 seconds against opponent who previously failed gender test
Italian boxer Angela Carini has withdrawn from her fight against Imane Khelif seconds into the Olympic welterweight bout, amid an ongoing row over the Algerian's eligibility for the Games.
Khelif was declared the winner by the referee following Carini's decision to abandon the bout after just 46 seconds.
Carini was punched twice by Khelif in the opening round of their women's welterweight fight in Paris before pulling out.
Khelif landed an early right hand on Carini, forcing the Italian to raise her hand to the referee to have her headgear checked by her corner.
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After speaking briefly to her coaches, she returned to fight and was immediately caught by another right from Khelif.
Carini then raised her glove again to the referee, officially signalling her decision to withdraw from the fight.
Shortly after, the Italian fell to her knees and burst into tears when the referee raised Khelif's hand at the announcement of the official result.
The Algerian attempted to embrace the Italian twice but was dismissed, with Carini refusing to shake her opponent's hand before leaving the ring.
The Telegraph report that Carini suffered a suspected broken nose in the fight, although this has not been confirmed.
Khelif's participation in the Games is controversial, as the Algerian was disqualified from last year's World Championships for failing gender eligibility tests.
Khelif was disqualified hours before her gold medal bout at the Championships in New Delhi after she failed to meet the International Boxing Association's (IBA) eligibility criteria, with the BBC reporting that she failed a testosterone level test.
Reuters report that IBA president Umar Kremlev told Russian news agency TASS at the time that Khelif and Taiwan's double world champion Lin Yu-ting, who was also disqualified from the Championships, had "XY chromosomes".
However, the Russian-led IBA has long faced questions about its governance and in June of last year was stripped of its status as the sport's world governing body by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
As a result, the boxing competition at the 2024 Olympics is being organised by another body, the Paris Boxing Unit (PBU), which approved both Khelif and Lin to take part in the Games.
"All athletes participating in the boxing tournament of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 comply with the competition's eligibility and entry regulations, as well as all applicable medical regulations in accordance with rules 1.4 and 3.1 of the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit," the IOC said in a statement.
"The PBU endeavoured to restrict amendments to minimise the impact on athletes' preparation and guaranteeing consistency between Olympic Games."
Speaking immediately after the fight, Carini said: "I have always honoured my country with loyalty. This time I didn't succeed because I couldn't fight anymore.
"So I put an end to the match."
Khelif will now progress to the quarter-finals of the women's welterweight competition, with the fight scheduled for Saturday against an opponent who is yet to be confirmed.
Rory O'Callaghan