“I abstained to save my life” Gender controversy caused by ‘XY chromosome’ boxer
Italy’s strongest female boxer in the 66kg class, Carini, “XY chromosome”, Algeria’s Khalifa, takes a series of strong punches and “gives up” after 46 seconds. “A man takes away a woman’s dream as an athlete” IOC responds to criticism, “Gender, passport criteria no problem”
Imane Khalif (Algeria, right), a female boxer whose gender is controversial, is comforting her opponent Angela Carini (Italy), who withdrew 46 seconds into the match in the round of 16 of the women’s 66kg boxing event at the Paris Olympics on the 1st.
“I had no choice but to give up the match to save my life.”
Italian boxer Angela Carini (26) said this after withdrawing 46 seconds into the match against Imane Khalif (25, Algeria) in the 66kg women’s boxing round of 16 at the Paris Olympics held at the North Arena in Paris, France on the 1st. Carini, who has won the title in this weight class seven times in Italy, was unable to continue the match because she could not withstand the punches of Khalif, who has a “gender controversy.” She said she was afraid that her nose would break, and said, “I have trained with male athletes before, but I felt more pain today.”
Thirty seconds into the match, Carini allowed consecutive punches to her face, causing her headgear chin strap to come off. Carini put her headgear back on and started the match again, but this time she was hit in the chin by Khalif’s powerful right straight hand. Carini returned to her corner and eventually withdrew. After the fight, Carini refused to shake Khalif’s hand and knelt in the ring in tears. “I’m a fighter who doesn’t fear getting hit, but I had to protect my life. I couldn’t continue this fight,” he said.
Khalifa, along with Lin Yu-ting (29, Taiwan), who competed in the women’s 57kg boxing class at this competition, are among the athletes who have been involved in gender controversy. The two were disqualified by the International Boxing Association (IBA) at the World Championships last year. At the time, the IBA pointed out that Khalifa and Lin Yu-ting have the “XY chromosome” that is usually found in men. This means that athletes with male chromosomes cannot compete in women’s events. The reason
Khalifa and Lin Yu-ting, who are at the center of the controversy, were able to compete in the Paris Olympics was because the IBA lost its authority to oversee Olympic boxing from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) due to judging irregularities and corruption. The IOC stated that “gender cannot be determined by chromosomes alone. They should not be described as transgender athletes,” and that there was no problem with Khalifa and Lin Yu-ting’s participation in the Olympics. Reuters reported that “people with dyssexual development (DSD) can be female but have XY chromosomes. In this case, they show the same testosterone levels as men.”
Even before the games, Italy, Carini’s home country, took issue with Khalif’s participation, even in the political arena. Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni criticized, “It is not fair competition for an athlete with male genetic characteristics to compete in a women’s competition,” and Italian Sports Minister Andrea Abodi expressed concern, saying, “The safety of athletes must be guaranteed in the Olympics.”
In addition, several celebrities expressed their opinions on Khalif and Lin Yuting’s participation in the Olympics, adding fuel to the controversy. British author J.K. Rowling, who wrote the Harry Potter novels, criticized, “It is shameful to have a male athlete step into the ring and take away the dreams of female athletes. This injustice has tarnished the Paris Olympics.” Tesla CEO Elon Musk also replied to a social media post saying, “Men should not participate in women’s sports,” saying, “Of course.” Amid the ongoing gender controversy, the IOC has reiterated its position that there is no problem. The IOC issued a statement on the 2nd, saying, “All boxers participating in the Paris Olympics boxing will have their gender and age determined based on their ‘passports’ as in previous competitions. We regret the abuse against Khalif and Lin Yuting.” They also criticized the IBA’s disqualification from the World Championships last year, which was the starting point of the controversy, as a “decision made unilaterally by the IBA’s senior management without due process.” Khalif is determined not to be swayed by the gender controversy. After finishing the round of 16, he said, “I came to Paris to win a medal. I am ready to fight anyone to achieve my goal.” The Algerian Olympic Committee also said, “We will take all necessary measures to protect Khalif.” Khalif will play Hamori Lutzer (Hungary) in the quarterfinals on the 4th. 바카라게임
