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≡ PARIS 2024 ≡
Three months after the close of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, there is no quiet in the continuing boil over the victories by Algeria’s Imane Khelif in the women’s 66 kg class or Yu-ting Lin (TPE) in the women’s 57 kg class.
Both were disqualified by the International Boxing Association at its 2023 World Championships, for blood test results which the federation said did not meet its “eligibility criteria.” Lin won the bronze medal, which was nullified and given to another fighter; Khelif was removed from the competition after qualifying for the 66 kg final.
Lin has been quiet following Paris, but not Khelif. She appeared on the Italian RAI network program “Lo Stato delle Cose” – “The State of Things” – and spoke with host Massimo Giletti about the controversies surrounding her, including her disqualification at the 2023 Worlds (computer translation from the original Italian):
“I have never seen these exams they are talking about, not even when I was excluded.
“They brought me a piece of paper and asked me to sign it, it said that I would not compete. It was a surreal situation.
“I was in the final and I did not have the chance to compete. I was shocked. But then as the Algerian federation we opposed it and we appealed, and we saw that the IBA no longer has any credibility.”
In Paris, Khelif’s situation was magnified after her opening bout with Italian Angela Carini, a fighter she knew from when the Algerian team trained with the Italians in the past, as well as at some prior tournaments.
Carini abandoned the fight after 46 seconds, saying afterwards, “I got into the ring to fight. I didn’t give up, but one punch hurt too much and so I said enough. I’m going out with my head held high.
“After the second punch, after years of experience, I felt a strong pain in the nose. I said enough, because I didn’t want. I couldn’t finish the fight after the punch to the nose. So it was better to put an end to it.”
Carini later apologized, telling the La Gazzetto dello Sport: “All this controversy makes me sad. I’m sorry for my opponent, too. If the IOC said she can fight, I respect that decision.”
As for stopping, she explained, “It wasn’t something I intended to do. Actually, I want to apologize to her and everyone else. I was angry because my Olympics had gone up in smoke.”
Khelif went on to win the gold medal in Paris, and said during her radio interview
“I’m not angry with Angela, she’s my sister, we share the same passion for boxing.
“I’m angry with those who pressured her, to have a reaction that I didn’t think I deserved. Like all boxers, I wanted a normal match, instead it was a farce. …
“I don’t think she behaved that way of her own free will. I’m absolutely sure that the pressure she was subjected to led her to behave that way.”
Last week, the International Olympic Committee said in a statement:
“We understand that Imane Khelif has taken legal action against individuals who commented on her situation during the Olympic Games Paris 2024, and is also preparing a lawsuit in response to the latest reporting.”
Khelif filed in August in the Paris Prosecutor’s Office’s National Center for the fight against Online Hatred for comments made on social media during the Paris Games. The new suit will focus on a report in the French newspaper Le Correspondant, which published details earlier this month of a medical report which stated she had male (XY) chromosomes and was a biological male.
No end in sight. Khelif said she intends to continue fighting as a professional.
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