When Brienne of Tarth took on the fiercest warriors of Westeros, many sneered and called her a woman in a man’s body. Yet, nobody cared whether it was a man or a woman she fought. That is because there were no stringent rules in the make-believe, pre-historic world of Game of Thrones.
However, would she have been allowed to fight that freely at an event like the Olympics? Considering the modern world we live in where social media has made it possible for anyone to be put on trial digitally, we’d say probably not.
Unfortunately, such a fate has befallen Algerian boxer Imane Khelif. On Thursday, 1 August, a huge controversy erupted when a boxing match in the women’s 66-kilogram event at the Paris Olympics 2024 ended in less than a minute. While Khelif was declared the winner of the bout against Italy’s Angela Carini, she landed in trouble soon after the fight, with many people claiming that Khelif was actually a transgender woman.
When the Italian boxer pulled out of the fight in just 46 seconds, she broke down in tears and refused to shake Khelif’s hand. When asked, Carini said that she felt it was best to abandon the match because she feared for her life. Such comments were bound to spark a controversy.
As it happens, this is not the first time that Khelif has been the cynosure of controversy. In 2023, she was banned from competing in the World Boxing Championships by the International Boxing Association (IBA) after failing a gender eligibility test.
The gender row that brewed at the Paris Olympics has left netizens from all around the globe divided with varying opinions. Everyone from Elon Musk to WWE star Logan Paul has expressed their views on social media. So, in case you want to get up to speed with the entire hullabaloo, keep scrolling as we walk you through the complete timeline of the Imane Khelif vs Angela Carini boxing controversy at the Paris Olympics 2024 that has eclipsed every other development in the marquee sports meet.
How did the Imane Khelif vs Angela Carini boxing controversy at the Paris Olympics 2024 unfold?
24th March 2023: IBA bans Imane Khelif at the 2023 World Championships
To get a better understanding of the boxing controversy, we need to provide some context.
Before the 2023 World Boxing Championships began, the IBA disqualified Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting and Algeria’s Imane Khelif. In an official statement issued on 31 July 2024, the sport’s apex governing body mentioned that the boxers had failed to meet the eligibility criteria for participating in the women’s division. It further added,
“Point to note, the athletes did not undergo a testosterone examination but were subject to a separate and recognized test, whereby the specifics remain confidential. This test conclusively indicated that both athletes did not meet the required necessary eligibility criteria and were found to have competitive advantages over other female competitors.”
The fact that this test’s nature was never disclosed, however, made the IBA’s decision ambiguous. Therefore, nobody asked for any clarification when Algeria enlisted Khelif in the women’s 66-kilogram boxing event at the Paris Olympics 2024.
Not to mention, many in the sports fraternity consider the IBA to be a dubious organisation, particularly because of its alleged inclination towards Russia. This is further fuelled by the fact that Gazprom, a Russian multinational energy corporation based out of Saint Petersburg, was one of the IBA’s primary sponsors.
The organisation further fuelled accusations of its bias towards Russia in September 2022 by suspending the Ukraine Boxing Federation and accusing Ukraine of ‘government interference’ in a proposed election against its Russian president. The IBA even voted against the election, cementing its Russian president Umar Kremlev’s position.
As a mark of protest against Russia (following their invasion of Ukraine in 2022), the United States of America (USA), Great Britain and Ireland boycotted the IBA-organised 2023 World Championships held in New Delhi, India.
When you factor in all of this, it’s easy to see why many people refuse to believe that the IBA is an unbiased and trustworthy organisation.
1st August 2024: Angela Carini left in tears after her match with Khelif
As boxing has always been a high-octane affair at the Olympic Games, it wasn’t surprising to see fans swarm the North Paris Arena in large numbers on Thursday, 1 August for the clash between Angela Carini and Imane Khelif.
Unfortunately, when a match ends sooner than a warm-up session, you know the audience is in for a disappointing time.
As soon as the bout began, Khelif pushed her Italian opponent on the back foot with an array of attacking blows. Carini had her chin strap dislodged and endured a punch on her chin that bloodied her shorts. The Italian boxer ended up forfeiting the fight after just 46 seconds.
At first, most people felt sorry for the Italian pugilist who fell to her knees sobbing. After the fight, she revealed that she feared her nose might have been broken. “I have never felt a punch like this,” she was quoted saying.
Carini’s hint at Khelif striking her with above-normal strength for a woman brought back in focus the ban that the IBA imposed on her last year. And since then, the internet has pretty much lost its mind!
Netizens’ reaction to the controversial fight at the Paris Olympics 2024
Netizens are famous (or should we say infamous?) for their proclivity for fanning the flames of any controversy and making it, well, a lot bigger. In this case, they were served a whole meal on a platter. So it was not surprising to see social media platforms rife with conversations around the Paris Olympics 2024 boxing controversy minutes after the match ended.
American swimmer Riley Gaines took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to condemn Imane Khelif’s participation in the Olympics. The caption read, “Men don’t belong in women’s sports #IStandWithAngelaCarini.”
Tesla and X CEO Elon Musk, notorious for his transphobic views, right-wing ties and racist commentary, retweeted Gaines’ post:
Absolutely https://t.co/twccUEOW9e
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 1, 2024
Several others joined Gaines and Musk and echoed their opinion about Khelif’s participation in the grandest sports meet. From celebrated author and known transphobe J.K. Rowling to brothers Logan and Jake Paul, everyone had strong views on the 2024 Olympics boxing controversy:
Could any picture sum up our new men’s rights movement better? The smirk of a male who’s knows he’s protected by a misogynist sporting establishment enjoying the distress of a woman he’s just punched in the head, and whose life’s ambition he’s just shattered. #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/Q5SbKiksXQ
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) August 1, 2024
Logan Paul, pretty characteristically, ran headlong into a bit of controversy himself when he misgendered the Algerian boxer in his post. He posted a retraction soon after, but not before receiving heavy backlash for his original comment.
Additionally, the IBA has announced a prize money of USD 50,000 (MYR 221,150 approx.) for Angela Carini. For context, this amount will be given by the IBA to all the silver medal-winning boxers at the Paris Olympics 2024. While the gold medallists will receive USD 100,000 each, the bronze medallists will take home USD 25,000 each.
On the other hand, many people have risen to Khelif’s defence. Among them is Irish boxer Amy Broadhurst, the 2022 Commonwealth Games women’s lightweight division gold medallist who has fought Khelif in the past.
Have a lot of people texting me over Imane Khelif. Personally I don’t think she has done anything to ‘cheat’. I thinks it’s the way she was born & that’s out of her control. The fact that she has been beating by 9 females before says it all.
— Amy Broadhurst (@amybroadhurst12) July 31, 2024
The Algerian has also received support from the common masses.
1st August 2024: The Paris Olympics 2024 organisers respond to the controversy
The pertinent question to ask in this situation is, why was Imane Khelif allowed to participate in the Paris Olympics 2024 after receiving a ban from the IBA in 2023?
Turns out, the IBA is one of the few sports governing bodies that is not recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). As such, the ban by the IBA on Khelif and Lin Yu-ting is invalid when it comes to the Olympics.
In light of this boxing controversy at the Paris Olympics, the IOC even issued a strong statement defending its stance of permitting Khelif to participate in the mega sports meet.
This is what the IOC had to say about its gender rules at the Olympics:
“As with previous Olympic boxing competitions, the gender and age of the athletes are based on their passport.”
Additionally, the IOC spokesperson Mark Adams, in a press meet, stated how the organisers strongly stand by their initial decision to include the Algerian boxer in the Olympics.
“This is not a transgender case. There has been some confusion that somehow it’s a man fighting a woman. This is just not the case. On that there is consensus, scientifically this is not a man fighting a woman,” he said.
2nd Augsut 2024: Angela Carini apoligises to Khelif
In a sudden turn of events on Friday, 2 August, Angela Carini expressed her desire to apologise to Khelif. The pugilist, in an interview with Italian publication Gazzetta dello Sport, said that she felt sorry for her Algerian opponent.
“All this controversy certainly makes me sad, and I also feel sorry for my opponent, she had nothing to do with it and like me she was only here to fight,” Carini said. The boxer added that she has no bad blood against Khelif and that she would even hug her the next time they meet.
Is it possible that Carini’s apology is a result of the IOA’s strict stance on the issue? We cannot tell for sure. Whether a meagre passport check is an accurate measure to let athletes fight in gender-specific events is also debatable. So how will the authorities eventually mitigate this problem? Only time can tell.
In the meantime, we hope that no athlete has to go through the trolling that Khelif endured.
(Main and Featured Images Credits: Imane Khelif | إيمان خليف 🇩🇿/Instagram)
This article first appeared here
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Uddipta writes about sports and watches besides occasionally venturing into the world of automobiles and technology. He was associated with the Indian Express in the capacity of a sub-editor at their Lifestyle desk. A journalism and mass communication student from Xavier Institute of Communications, Mumbai, Uddipta devotes most of his leisure time to photography and filmmaking. He has contributed photographs to Vogue Italia and several exhibits, and has directed award-winning short films screened at film festivals in India and abroad.
