Imane Khelif issued a warning to her Olympic opponents after making Angela Carini quit after just 46 seconds in her opening fight at the Paris Games.
Khelif, 25, will compete in the women’s 66kg quarter-finals after Italy’s Carini abandoned their bout inside a minute.
Algerian Khelif was cleared to compete in the women’s boxing in Paris despite being disqualified from last year’s Women’s World Championships for failing to meet eligibility criteria.
The 2023 disqualification was due to elevated levels of testosterone but the International Olympic Committee are satisfied Khelif should be able to fight in Paris.
Khelif received vocal support from the Algerians in the Arena Paris Nord before her bout, which lasted less than a minute as Carini pulled out.
The Italian, also 25, was caught with a strong punch to the face inside 30 seconds and twice went to her corner to fix her headgear before stopping the fight.
Reports in Italy say Carini told her corner ‘it’s not right’ before deciding to end the bout and exiting the Olympics on her own terms.
Carini looked emotional as she waited for the referee to declare Khelif the winner and then slumped to her knees after the result was given while in tears.
Khelif refused to stop for a lengthy chat in the interview area but declared: ‘I am here for gold. I’ll fight anyone.’
Following her Olympics exit, Carini said: ‘I wasn’t able to finish the match, I felt a strong pain to my nose and I said [to myself] for the experience that I have and the maturity as a woman that I have, I said I hope my nation won’t take it badly, I hope my dad won’t take it badly – but I stopped, I said stop for myself.
‘It could have been the match of a lifetime, but I had to preserve my life as well in that moment.
‘I didn’t have fear, I don’t fear the ring. I don’t fear taking the blows. But this time there’s an end for everything, and I put an end to this match, because I wasn’t able to [continue].’
On Khelif, the Italian added: ‘I wish her to carry on until the end and that she can be happy. I am someone who doesn’t judge anyone. I am not here to give judgements.’
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