Italian Boxer Apologizes After Outburst Over Opponent’s Gender

Italian Olympian boxer Angela Carini apologized to her Algerian opponent, boxer Imane Khelif, after Carini abandoned her fight with Khelif at the Paris Olympics and said it was “not up to me to judge” if Khelif was a woman or not. “Actually, I want to apologize to her and everyone else,” Carini told Italian sports outlet La Gazzetta dello Sport. “I was angry because my Olympics had gone up in smoke. I don’t have anything against Khelif. Actually, if I were to meet her again, I would embrace her,” she added.

Carini left her match after 46 seconds in the ring with Khelif, saying “I felt too much pain on my nose,” following a punch from Khelif. The controversy around Khelif’s gender began after a DNA test from the International Boxing Association “proved they (Khelif) had XY chromosomes,” according to the organization’s President, Umar Kremlev. “I’m sorry for my opponent, too. … If the IOC said she can fight, I respect that decision,” Carini added. The controversy around Khelif’s gender has been a flash point for right-wing politicians, pundits and the like over the past week.