VILLEPINTE, France — Imane Khelif of Algeria won her opening Olympic boxing bout on Thursday when opponent Angela Carini of Italy quit after just 46 seconds.
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.
Carini and Khelif exchanged only a few punches before Carini walked away and abandoned the bout, an extremely unusual occurrence in Olympic boxing. Carini, whose headgear apparently became dislodged at least once before she quit, didn’t shake Khelif’s hand after the decision was announced, but she cried in the ring on her knees.
Algeria’s Imane Khelif, right, after defeating Italy’s Angela Carini, left, in their women’s 66kg preliminary boxing match Thursday at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Afterward, a still-tearful Carini said she quit because of intense pain in her nose after the opening punches. Carini, who had a spot of blood on her trunks, said she wasn’t making a political statement and was not refusing to fight Khelif.
