Carini 'sorry' to Khalife over 'gender eligibility test' row
ITV News explains the row over the women's Olympic boxing
Italian boxer Angela Carini has apologised to Algeria's Imane Khelif for refusing to shake her hand, after pulling out of an Olympic women's 66kg boxing match just 46 seconds in.
It follows calls from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to end the spreading of "misinformation" about Khelif, as critics had claimed the athlete should not be allowed to compete.
Unsubstantiated claims have swirled online that Khalif - who was born a woman - is transgender.
Carini pulled out of the fight against Khelif after her headgear became dislodged twice and cried in the ring before leaving.
In her apology to Khelif, and said she felt "sad" about the controversy surrounding the match.
"If the IOC said she can fight, I respect that decision,” she said.
"I want to apologize to her and everyone else. I was angry because my Olympics had gone up in smoke.
"I don’t have anything against Khelif. Actually, if I were to meet her again I would embrace her.”
Khelif, along with Chinese Taipei's Lin Yu-ting, was disqualified from the 2023 World Championships after failing a "gender eligibility test", the Russian-led IBA (International Boxing Association) said.
The details of exactly what the IBA were testing for, and what the results were, are not known.
The IOC claimed their decision to disqualify Khelif and Lin from last year's championships was "arbitrary" and "without due process", and confirmed both were fully eligible to compete in women's boxing at Paris 2024.
Lin also won her opening bout in the women's featherweight boxing category against Uzbekistan's Sitora Turdibekova at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Friday.
The IBA argues the athletes had undergone "two trustworthy tests" at World Championships in Istanbul in 2022 and New Delhi in 2023.
A statement on Wednesday confirmed they had not undergone a testosterone examination.
The IOC had withdrawn the IBA's recognition in 2023, due to financial transparency, integrity of officials and its culture.
Khelif has previously competed at Tokyo 2020, but finished just outside of the medal positions.
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An IOC statement highlighted the athletes had been competing in international boxing in the women's category for many years.
“What I would urge is that we try to take the culture war out of this and actually address the issues and the people and think about the individuals concerned and the real damage that is being done by misinformation,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams added.
“The IOC is always trying to do a balance between inclusivity and fairness.
"But that is entirely different to what is going on here, which is a woman boxer being stigmatised and potentially forced out of a competition.”
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy last month said “biology matters” in sport.
She told the BBC the Khelif-Carini fight was an "incredibly uncomfortable" watch and said she was aware of the concerns of women competitors.
“There is a role for Government to make sure they have got the guidance and the framework and the support to make those decisions correctly," she added.
In a statement, the Algerian Olympic Committee condemned what it described as “lies” and “unethical targeting and maligning of our esteemed athlete, Imane Khelif, with baseless propaganda from certain foreign media outlets".
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