Angela Carini is trying to calm the storm around Imane Khelif.
The Italian boxer, whose 46-second loss to Khelif on Thursday kicked off an Olympic controversy regarding her Algerian foe’s gender, offered an apology Friday.
“All this controversy makes me sad,” Carini told Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport. “I’m sorry for my opponent, too. If the IOC said she can fight, I respect that decision.”
Carini quit the 66kg preliminary fight after absorbing Khelif punches to her face, and then tearfully fell to her knees in the ring and decried the fight as “unjust.”
That has amplified questions surrounding Khelif’s status — she was disqualified by the Russian-led International Boxing Association at the 2023 world championships due to claims of having XY chromosomes and elevated testosterone levels.
Khelif is recognized as a female by the IOC.
“The Algerian boxer was born female, was registered female, lived her life as a female, boxed as a female, has a female passport,” IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said Friday.
The controversy is showing no signs of slowing down ahead of Khelif’s next match against Hungary’s Anna Luca Hamori on Saturday.
“I’m not scared,” Hamori told reporters after her trouncing of Australia’s Marissa Williamson Pohlman. “I don’t care about the press story and social media. If she or he is a man, it will be a bigger victory for me if I win.”
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That hasn’t stopped the Hungarian Boxing Association from filing letters of protest to the IOC and Hungarian Olympic committee over the quarterfinal final, while mulling legally challenging Khelif’s status.
Carini, meanwhile, saw her Olympic dream end early and is left with regret — especially after not shaking Khelif’s hand after their bout.
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“It wasn’t something I intended to do,” Carini said. “Actually, I want to apologize to her and everyone else. I was angry because my Olympics had gone up in smoke.”
She added if the and Khelif ever met again, Carini would “embrace her.”
