Olympic: IBA awards Italian boxer $50,000 after quitting fight against ‘ex-male’ opponent in 46 secs

The International Boxing Association (IBA) has announced it will award $50,000 to Italian boxer Angela Carini. This award comes after she forfeited her fight against Algeria’s Imane Khelif, at the Paris Olympics.

The fight, which ended just 46 seconds into the first round, has started a controversy over gender eligibility issues surrounding the women’s boxing competition at these Games.

Carini, visibly in tears, said she had to withdraw because Khelif had hit her too hard and she could no longer continue.

“I couldn’t look at her tears,” said IBA President Umar Kremlev in a press release. “I am not indifferent to such situations, and I can assure you that we will protect each boxer.”

The IBA, which is not recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the governing body for boxing, has been at the centre of the gender eligibility controversy.

Earlier this year, the IBA disqualified Khelif and Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-Ting from the World Championships for failing gender tests. Even though the IOC has stated that both athletes meet the criteria to compete at the Olympics.

What is the gender eligibility test?

The gender eligibility tests in sports are meant to ensure fair competition by verifying an athlete’s biological sex. In the case of Khelif and Yu-ting, reports indicate they were disqualified from the 2022 Women’s World Boxing Championships after failing to meet the gender eligibility criteria. The test results suggest that they have male chromosomes.

However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has since strongly reaffirmed that both athletes are eligible to compete as women in the 2024 Olympic Games. The IOC stated that the recent reports questioning the athletes’ genders were “misleading information.” They clarified that Khelif was born female, lived her life as a female, and has competed in the women’s category for many years. They emphasised that this is not a transgender case. And that the athletes meet all the necessary rules to compete as women.

“We are not talking about the transgender issue here. This is about a woman taking part in the women’s category. This is not a transgender case,” said IOC President Thomas Bach, urging for the women to be respected.

Despite the controversy, the IBA has decided to award Carini the same prize money as an Olympic champion – $50,000. Her coaches and national federation will also receive $25,000 each, totaling $100,000 in support.

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The IBA’s decision to support Carini comes after the Italian boxer expressed regret over her actions. This includes refusing to shake hands with Khelif after the fight. Carini said she was “sorry for my opponent” and would “embrace her” if they met again.