NEW DELHI: Italian boxer Angela Carini on Thursday stopped her welterweight bout against Algeria's Imane Khelif after just 46 seconds due to intense pain in her nose but insisted she does not consider it a defeat.
Carini's decision to abandon the fight came after Khelif's failure to meet gender eligibility criteria at the 2023 World Championships, although Khelif was cleared to compete in the Paris Olympics.
Carini's bout against Khelif gathered significant attention due to Khelif's disqualification for failing a gender eligibility test just before a scheduled gold medal match at the World Championships in New Delhi last year.
Despite this, Khelif was permitted to compete in the Paris Olympics under the International Olympic Committee's regulations.
During Thursday's bout, Carini paused 30 seconds in to adjust her headgear. Briefly resuming, she soon returned to her corner and left the ring, citing intense pain in her nose as the reason for her withdrawal.
"For me, it's not a defeat. For me, when you climb those ropes, you're already a warrior, you're already a winner," Carini said.
"Regardless of everything it's okay, fine like this. I didn't lose tonight ... I only did my job as a fighter. I got in the ring and I fought. I didn't make it. I'm coming out with my head held high and with a broken heart.
"I'm a mature woman. The ring is my life. I've always been very instinctive. And when I feel that something isn't right, it's not giving up. It's having the maturity to stop. It's having the maturity to say, 'OK, that's enough'."
The fight has sparked discussions in Italy, with Family Minister Eugenia Roccella and Sports Minister Andrea Abodi expressing their concerns about the eligibility rules prior to the bout. Carini addressed these concerns, stating they did not burden her.
"I didn't. For me, they weren't things that stopped me or blocked me mentally," Carini said on being asked if she felt burdened by the discourse.
"I got in the ring and I said, 'I'm going to give it all I've got, regardless of the person in front of me, who doesn't interest me at this moment'.
"I had to give my best. So, with regard to all the controversies, I was never interested. I went in and I just wanted to win."
Italian boxing coach Emanuele Renzini said Carini had been given the option of backing out of the bout.
"I asked her, 'Angela, if you don't want to go up, let's not go'," Renzini said.
"But she told me no, 'this is my Olympics, I struggled to be here, I want to fight for my medal'. So she was very determined to do it.
"I supported her. I didn't imagine such an outcome. She never had any doubts, she wanted to fight."
