Australian Olympians have spoken out about the Paris Olympics boxing saga, raising concerns about two fighters at the centre of a gender controversy.
Their comments came after the Hungarian Boxing Federation contacted the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to object to the participation of Imane Khelif, who has a lightning-fast, on Thursday.
Her victory sparked a backlash in some quarters after Carini said she had “never felt such a blow” and refused to shake hands. Some critics have wrongly labeled Khelif as a man.
A day later, Carini apologized, telling Italian newspaper Gazetta Dello Sport that the controversy made her “sad” and that she was “angry” because her “Olympic Games had gone up in smoke.”
“If the IOC has said she can fight, then I respect that decision,” she told the newspaper.
Khelif and her longtime Taiwanese female fighter Lin Yu-ting were disqualified from last year’s world championships held by the International Boxing Association (IBA) after allegedly failing unspecified gender eligibility tests. The results of those tests were never released.
Lin and Khelif have passports showing they are women and that there are no problems with their participation by the IOC, which organizes the Olympic boxing tournament in the absence of the IBA. The IOC has suspended them due to integrity concerns.
The IOC said the IBA’s decision to disqualify the boxers last year was “sudden”, “arbitrary” and “without due process”.
Boxer Lin Yu-ting from Taiwan. Source: AAP, Press Association / Poupart Julien/ABACA
Groundbreaking boxerthe first Muslim woman to box for Australia at the Olympics has expressed concern about Khelif and Lin over the criticism.
Rahimi, who lost to Poland’s Julia Szeremeta on Friday, asked for evidence that led to the duo’s exclusion from the IBA.
“Men should participate in men’s sports and women should participate in women’s sports. I think there’s been a lot of talk about it, but there’s not been any good evidence,” she said.
“Until there are good facts, people really shouldn’t be talking about it.”
Rahimi also said the media storm surrounding the boxers could take a “huge toll” on the athletes’ mental health, calling it “unnecessary”.
Skye Nicholson, who competed in the Tokyo Games but is not in Paris, published a statement from Irish boxer Amy Broadhurst, who called the situation “crazy”.
Broadhurst posted a photo on social media of her and Khelif shaking hands, writing: “The abuse this person has endured over the last 24 hours without any facts or evidence is complete bullshit!!”
Referring to Broadhurst’s post, Nicholson said: “Don’t be too quick to jump on something just because the media is pushing a story on you.”
In a follow-up post, Nicholson said she had fought with both Khelif and Lin and that the criticism and criticism they received was unwarranted.
Australian boxer Tina Rahimi. Source: MONKEY / Lucas Coch
Algeria files complaint as saga escalates
Khelif will now face Hungarian Luca Anna Hamori, while Lin will face Bulgarian Svetlana Kamenova Staneva.
On Thursday, Hamori said she was not afraid of Khelif, while Staneva said the fight was not good for women’s boxing.
The Hungarian Boxing Federation, the MOB, has protested Khelif’s participation. On Friday, it said it had written a letter to the Hungarian Olympic Committee objecting to Khelif’s participation ahead of her fight against Hamori.
“The MOB is continually examining the means it can use to protect Hamori’s rights to fair competition under the applicable rules,” a statement said.
“The President of the MOB immediately entered into consultations with the IOC Director of Sport to clarify the situation.”
Algerian boxer Imane Khelif (right) and Italian Angela Carini. Source: MONKEY / John Locher/AP
Meanwhile, Hamori posted a cartoon on social media of a slender woman in a boxing ring next to a huge beast.
It is believed that the post was the reason for the Algerian Olympic Committee’s complaint to the IOC. It was reported on Facebook that it was filed due to a “serious violation and breach of the ethics of sport… by one of the participants in the boxing tournament”.
The Facebook post continued: “The IOC has issued a final warning to offenders, instructing them to remove any post that harms our heroine, Imane Khelif.”
With additional reporting from Australian Associated Press and Reuters.
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