Khelif's opponent:

“I’ve never felt a punch like that”

Angela Carini (in blue) gave up against Imane Khelif. And burst into tears afterwards.(Bild: AP)

"I've never felt a punch like that before." Said Italian boxer Angela Carini after her defeat against her "male" opponent Imane Khelif. She explicitly stated that the "defeat" was not a political statement.

The fight, which had already heated up the whole world in the run-up, lasted less than a minute. Then Carini had had enough. She gave up, the referee ended the unequal fight and Algeria's Khelif emerged as the (expected) winner.

"I have fought"
"It would have been easier not to show up, because the whole of Italy had been asking her not to fight for days. But Angela was motivated and wanted to do it," quoted Carini's coach Emanuele Renzini in "Sportbild" after the fight. The early withdrawal was anything but a statement, says Carini herself: "I fought, despite all the discussions over the past few days." In fact, Austria's boxing world champion Michaela Kotaskova had already said in the krone.at interview before the fight: "I would have refused, I would simply have been afraid." 

(Bild: MOHD RASFAN)

(Bild: AP)

And that would not even have been unfounded, as Carini explained after the fight. She had "never felt a punch" like the one Khelif gave her. After just a few seconds, she felt so much pain that she was unable to continue fighting. And consequently gave up.

Fair?
Carini will keep the fire of discussion burning. Is it fair for a woman who has been found to have the XY chromosome to fight against "real" women? No, say Austrian insiders largely in unison - see:

"We've got your back"
On the other hand, the Algerian association demonstratively backed Khelif after the fight and in turn identified "defamation attempts based on lies" that were "completely unfair". The whole of Algeria was behind her. 

What makes the matter so explosive: a year ago, Khelif was banned from the World Championships due to high testosterone levels, but this year she is allowed to box at the Olympics - according to the IOC, because she has been allowed to participate in various women's boxing competitions for many years, including the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo.

"Thank you! First victory"
Khelif appears to be quite unimpressed by the case. On Instagram after the fight, she was dry as dust, saying "Thank you" and pointing out that it was her first victory.

As if there were many more to come. And with it, many more discussions.