Italian boxer Angela Carini said she wants to apologise to Imane Khelif following the controversy which surrounded their fight.
Carini abandoned their bout after 46 seconds and the decision was followed by global outrage, particularly on social media with accusations Khelif, a biological woman with a higher testosterone level, was trans.
“All this controversy makes me sad,” Carini told Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport. “I’m sorry for my opponent, too. If the IOC (International Olympic Committee) said she can fight, I respect that decision.”
After receiving a punch to head, Carini went to her corner and said: “She really hurt me, I don’t want to carry on,” before abandoning the bout.
And during the confirmation of Khelif’s victory, Carini repeated the words: “It’s not right.”
She also refused a handshake offered to her by her Algerian opponent after the fight.
“It wasn’t something I intended to do,” Carini said. “Actually, I want to apologise to her and everyone else. I was angry because my Olympics had gone up in smoke.
“If I saw her again, I’d embrace her.”
Italy’s prime minister Giorgia Meloni, as well as the country’s Olympic Committee (Coni) criticised the decision to include Khelif in the women’s category for boxing.
The incident comes shortly after Coni lodged a formal complaint after fencer Filippo Macchi lost to Hong Kong’s Cheung Ka-long in the gold medal match.
Italy’s Olympic chief Giovanni Malago also queried why referees from South Korea and Chinese Taipei were allowed to oversee a bout including a Hong Kong athlete.
Meanwhile, the International Boxing Association (IBA) announced they would award Carini her US$50,000 (HK$390,000) in prize money, despite her defeat to Khelif.
The gender row surrounding Khelif started in March 2023 when the IBA disqualified Khelif ahead of her gold medal match.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) labelled the decision as “sudden and arbitrary” and “without any process”.
The IBA, which was stripped of its international recognition by the IOC last year, said Carini would receive $50,000, her federation a further $25,000 and her coach an additional $25,000.
“I do not understand why they killed women’s boxing,” IBA President Umar Kremlev said. “Only eligible athletes should compete in the ring for the sake of safety. I could not look at her tears.”
Information from Reuters was used in this report
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tK%2FMqWWcp51kwLG70a1mm6eonruoe8Crq6KbnJp8dH6WbGdubV%2BlrrO10mampbGdpbakv4yiq5qkmZa7bq7OsZyrZZ%2Bbs6a%2B0maYqaecpLS6ecimmKedXaC1prjIn2SanqSav27A0ZqlrGWTpLu1vs6vnKurqQ%3D%3D