Angeline Carini feared for her life after she stopped fighting Imane Khelif following just 46 seconds. The fight had been stopped after the Italian fighter was hit in the face twice.
The fight was stopped after Khelif, who is from Algeria, hit a second blow.
After the referee declared the winner of the 66-kilogram bout, Carini, who was visibly upset, refused to shake hands with the Algerian.
She then fell to her knees. Khelif, who was supposed to be part of the Olympic boxing tournament, was disqualified from the World Championships due to an eligibility issue.
According to the IOC, Khelif was disqualified from the event after testing positive for a testosterone level violation.
She was one of the two athletes who were cleared to participate in the tournament in Paris.
Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan lost her bronze medal after failing a gender test. Carini, on the other hand, said that she could no longer continue.
After suffering a nose injury, Carini decided to stop the fight. She said that she could no longer continue.
At that moment, she felt like she had to protect herself. Despite the injury, she didn’t have any fear of getting hit in the ring.
I had been training with my brother, and I’ve always fought men. Unfortunately, I experienced too much pain today.
According to her, she suffered a nose injury and a blood on her finger. It’s impossible to continue, as this is the first time that I’ve been hit this hard.
Although she wasn’t accusing Khelif of breaking the rules, Carini said that she started feeling severe pain in her nose during the first minute of the fight.
After struggling to continue, she decided to call it quits. She expressed her regret not being able to carry Italy on the medal stand.
When she entered the ring, Carini said that she had to remove herself from the person in front of her.
She added that she didn’t care about the controversy surrounding her fight. Instead, she focused on winning.
Even if the coaches told her that she could no longer fight, Carini refused to accept it.
She said that she was a fighter who used her father’s teachings as her inspiration.
She added that she had no choice but to retire due to the injury she suffered.
Carini also stated that she wished Khelif well and that she should continue to enjoy her life.