Italy's boxing Olympian Angela Carini handed out an olive branch after a dramatic boxing match at the Paris Olympics that sparked an ongoing debate.
ADVERTISEMENTAngela Carini has decided to end the controversy surrounding her shocking withdrawal from a boxing match at the Paris Olympics with a wholehearted apology to Algeria's Imane Khelif on Friday.
The Italian 25-year-old boxer abandoned the fight only 46 seconds into the match on Thursday after receiving a heavy punch in the face from the opponent, also 25.
Carini left the ring in tears, refusing to shake hands with Khelif, who had tried to offer her consolation in the meantime.
Speaking to Italian paper La Gazzetta dello Sport on Friday, the Italian boxing Olympian calmed the spirits, saying she was sorry about the controversy and apologised to Khelif, adding that she would "embrace her" if an opportunity presented itself.
"It wasn't something I intended to do," said Carini, "I was angry because my Olympics had gone up in smoke".
"I'm sorry for my opponent, too. If the IOC said she can fight, I respect that decision."
Khelif is female and lived as a female, reiterates IOC
The episode sparked a row about gender eligibility criteria.
Khelif is an accomplished amateur who won a silver medal at the International Boxing Association's 2022 World Championships. The same governing body disqualified her from last year's championships shortly before her gold medal match because of what it claimed were elevated levels of testosterone.
Khelif has been diagnosed with DSD, a rare condition that can result in elevated levels of testosterone or male chromosomes in those raised as female.
However, Olympic authorities gave her the green light to compete in women's boxing in Paris and defended her participation in the wake of the heated debate sparked by the Italian athlete's decision to quit the match.
Khelif "was born female, was registered female, lived her life as a female, boxed as a female, has a female passport," IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said on Friday.
Brothers of Italy bicker
Italy's Premier Giorgia Meloni, who has keenly followed the Paris Olympics so far and often tweets about them, met with Carini on Thursday after the match.
"I know that you will never give up Angela, and I know that one day you will get what you deserve through strength and sweat. In a competition that is finally equal," she wrote on X on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Rachele Mussolini, a local councillor in Rome from Meloni's far-right party Brothers of Italy, slammed what she called a "smear campaign" against Khelif.
"Imane is a woman. Enough with the exploitation," she said in an interview with domestic press on Friday. "They're actually teaching us lessons in human rights in Algeria," she added.
ADVERTISEMENTRachele is the granddaughter of the fascist dictator of Italy during World War II, Benito Mussolini.