PARIS – The International Boxing Association (IBA) said it will hand dangled $50,000 in Italy’s Angela Carini’s way after quitting her fight with Algeria’s Imane Khelif at the Olympics. The fight, which lasted for only 46 seconds and witnessed Carini in tears on Thursday, raised gender eligibility issues at Paris Games.
The IBA has been caught up in a controversy about gender eligibility in women boxers with Russia backing it. Carini said she couldn’t continue because Khelif hit her too hard. IBA president Umar Kremlev voiced sapphires “When I saw her crying I couldn’t face that situation.”He added “My heart goes out for such people I will ensure no boxer is left behind.”
The IBA disqualified Khelif and Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-Ting during the 2023 World Championships on grounds that they did not pass the gender eligibility test. However, the IBA is not recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as a governing body for boxing thus having no official role in Olympic competitions.
The IOC has defended Khelif and Lin, saying they have fulfilled all the requirements for competing in the Olympics and accused the IBA of disqualifications done arbitrarily. “We are not talking about transgender issue here, but about a woman who is competing amongst other women,” clarified IOC President Thomas Bach. “This is not a case of being transgender.” Let us honour them as human beings, don’t confuse them,” he added.
Currently, there has been no comment from the Italian Olympic delegation regarding this matter. It shows how sports gender eligibility issues are not straightforward while IBA and IOC have divergent views on it.