Olympic Games boxer in stunning backflip on rival Imane Khelif as gender storm erupts in Paris

The Italian boxer at the centre of one of the most dramatic walk-offs at the Olympic Games has made a stunning backflip over the gender storm surrounding rival fighter, Imane Khelif. Italy's Angela Carini sent shockwaves around the world when she abandoned her fight against Khelif after just 46 seconds, having copped two punches from the Algerian star in the quarter-finals of the women’s 66kg category.

The Italian was reduced to tears and lashed out after the fight, claiming she had “never been hit so hard” in her life and that she had to quit the bout to "safeguard her life". Carini's claim inadvertently sparked a global gender debate surrounding Khelif, who was disqualified from the world championships by the International Boxing Association (IBA) last year for failing a gender eligibility test.

However, Khelif has been allowed to compete at the Paris Games due to the International Olympic Committee (IOC)'s own eligibility rules. The IBA has eligibility criteria that prevent athletes with male XY chromosomes from competing in women’s events but the IOC has defended its decision to allow athletes such as Khelif and Taiwan's Lin Yu‑ting to compete. Khelif was born a female but is believed to have a genetic abnormality that causes higher testosterone levels. And she and Yu‑ting have always competed in female events and lived as women their whole lives.

Angela Carini sorry amid gender storm in women's boxing

Having seen the global backlash against Khelif after her sensational withdrawal and subsequent comments, Italy's Carini has now come out to apologise to her Algerian rival, whom she refused to shake hands with after the fight. “I’m sorry for my opponent, too. If the IOC said she can fight, I respect that decision,” Carini told Gazzetta dello Sport after admitting the ugly saga had made her "sad".

“It wasn’t something I intended to do,” Carini added in reference to the handshake snub of Khelif. “Actually, I want to apologise to her and everyone else. I was angry because my Olympics had gone up in smoke.” The Italian admitted that if her and Khelif crossed paths again she would "embrace her", in what is a stunning about-turn from the Italian fighter.

The IOC is running the boxing competition in Paris and allowed Khelif and Yu‑ting to participate after stripping the IBA of its recognition last year due to governance and finance issues. The IOC has defended to decision to allow both boxers to compete in the women's division and says they are facing global “aggression” because of an “arbitrary decision” to disqualify them by the IBA without due process.

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But the IBA has condemned the “inconsistencies in eligibility” at the Paris Games. “Both Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting post testing, did not meet the required eligibility criteria to compete within the female category of our respective events,” the body said. “The urgent nature of the decision (to disqualify the boxers) was justified, as the safety of our boxers is our top priority.”

Imame Khelif's next opponent hits out at Algerian boxer

The controversy took another ugly turn when Khelif's next opponent - Hungary's Anna Luca Hamori - shared an explosive social media post that portrayed the Algerian fighter as a cartoon 'bull-man' with giant horns and massive muscles. She later deleted the image before declaring she was "not scared" about coming up against the Algerian. "I don't care about the story... if she or he is a man it'll be a bigger victory for me if I will win,"Hamori said. "So let's do it. It's going to be a great fight and I hope I will win. I can't wait."

The Hungarian followed up those comments with a Facebook post in which she insisted it was unfair to allow Khelif to compete in the women's category. "In my humble opinion I don't think it's fair that this contestant can compete in the women's category," she wrote. "But I cannot concern myself with that now, I cannot change it, it's life."

Khelif and Hamori are scheduled to face off Sunday morning (AEST) in what is set to be an emotionally-charged bout. Despite the widespread gender storm that has erupted ahead of that fight, the IOC says it has no plans to change its boxing rules which state that athletes only need a passport listing to establish their gender. The IOC has also categorically ruled out gender testing that was in place up until the Sydney 2000 Games after labelling it “pretty disgraceful”.

with agencies