Imane Khelif ignites gender controversy in Olympic after knocking out opponent in 46 seconds

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Algerian boxer Imane Khelif on Thursday sparked a severe controversy over the gender eligibility rule after thundering an unimaginable punch to dislodge her competitor Angela Carini within the first 46 seconds in the women’s boxing competition in Paris.

On Thursday, Italian boxer Angela Carini left the match against Khelif after taking a punch to the face within 46 seconds and walked back to her corner, a rare occurrence in Olympic boxing.

Carini said she felt severe pain in her nose, and with the maturity of a boxer, she said to herself, ‘Enough’ because she didn’t feel like continuing. “I didn’t want to do it again. I couldn’t finish the match,” Carini said.

She continued “I am in pieces because I am a fighter, they taught me to be a warrior. I have always tried to behave with honour, I have always represented my country with loyalty. This time I didn’t manage to because I couldn’t fight any more. Regardless of the person I had in front, of me, which doesn’t interest me, regardless of all the row, I just wanted to win. I wanted to face the person that I had in front of me and to fight.”

Khelif has been battling gender eligibility. She was disqualified from participating in the 2023 Women’s World Championships for failing to meet eligibility criteria. However, she was cleared to compete in this year’s women’s boxing tournaments in Paris. Her bout with the Italian Angela Carini, who dropped down after receiving a mighty punch from Khelif, raised a concern about why she was disqualified in 2023.

Khelif’s participation in the 2023 World Championships was revoked because she did not meet the criteria of the gender eligibility test. There has been a controversy surrounding her gender, as most people alleged that she is transgender.

JK Rowling referred to her as a “male”, and accused her of “enjoying the distress of a woman he’s just punched in the head, and whose life’s ambition he’s just shattered”.

On the Truth Social platform, US presidential candidate Donald Trump emphatically stated, “I will keep men out of women’s sports,” using capital letters. Meanwhile, his vice-presidential nominee, JD Vance, contended that “Kamala Harris’s ideas about gender” have resulted in “a grown man pummelling a woman in a boxing match”.

Likewise, Reem Alsalem, the United Nations special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, expressed on X that Carini and other female athletes should not have been subjected to this physical and psychological violence considering their gender.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed her viewpoint regarding the participation of athletes with male genetic characteristics in women’s competitions, stating, “I think that athletes who have male genetic characteristics should not be admitted to women’s competitions … from my point of view it was not an even contest.”

In these contexts, Khelif has been referred to as a man. However, others have argued that Khelif is bullied, stating that being homosexual, let alone trans, is illegal in Algeria, and this witch-hunt could have the most appalling consequences for Khelif.

Meanwhile, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has defended her right to compete. On Friday, IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said that the Algerian boxer was born female, registered female, lived her life as a female, boxed as a female, and has a female passport.

In a later development, Angela Carini has tendered her apologies to the Algerian athlete.

“All this controversy makes me sad. I’m sorry for my opponent, too. If the IOC said she could fight, I respect that decision.” she said.