Angela Carini said she “preferred to stop for my health” after receiving a heavy blow to the face from a competitor who was banned from last year’s world championships.
An Italian boxer has said she “never felt a punch like this” after her fight against an opponent who previously failed a gender eligibility test was abandoned early in the first round.
Angela Carini quit the 66kg category bout against Imane Khelif and ended her Olympics dream after signalling she was unable to carry on due to pain in her nose.
The clash lasted just 46 seconds, and the match build-up was marred by controversy following the inclusion of Khelif.
The Algerian was one of two athletes cleared to compete in the women’s boxing in Paris despite being disqualified from last year’s world championships due to failing to meet gender eligibility criteria.
Khelif landed a few shots in Thursday’s fight, including a huge punch to Carini’s face, before the Italian fighter went to her corner and then pulled out of the bout.
Carini did not shake hands with Khelif and was pictured in floods of tears afterwards.
The Italian later said she quit because her nose “hurt so much” and insisted she was not making a political statement and refusing to fight Khelif.
She added: “I am not here to judge or pass judgement. If an athlete is this way, and in that sense it’s not right or it is right, it’s not up to me to decide.”
Carini also said after the fight: “I am heartbroken. I went to the ring to honour my father.
“I was told a lot of times that I was a warrior, but I preferred to stop for my health. I have never felt a punch like this.
“After the second blow, and after years of experience in the ring and a lifetime of fighting, I felt extreme pain in my nose.
“I said ‘enough’ because I didn’t want to… I couldn’t carry on in the match. I thought maybe it was better that I brought an end to the match.”
She added: “I went to my corner and raised my hand and said I’d had enough because my nose hurt so much.”
Khelif’s victory means she progresses to the quarter-finals.
The Algerian boxer was disqualified from the world championships in Delhi last year alongside Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting after the International Boxing Association (IBA) said a test found “both athletes did not meet the required necessary eligibility criteria”.
The IBA said the fighters “did not undergo a testosterone examination but were subject to a separate and recognised test, whereby the specifics remain confidential”.
It comes after the IBA was stripped of its status as the global governing body for boxing by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in June last year because it failed to complete reforms on governance, finance and ethical issues.
The IBA, which is not involved in the organisation of the Olympics, has questioned why Khelif and Lin have been allowed to compete in Paris.
IOC spokesperson Mark Adams had defended the decision earlier this week, saying: “I would just say that everyone competing in the women’s category is complying with the competition eligibility rules.
“They are women in their passports and it is stated that is the case.”
He added: “They have competed and they continue to compete in the women’s competition. They have lost and they have won against other women over the years.”
However, Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Carini’s bout against Khelif was not a fight among equals.
“I think that athletes who have male genetic characteristics should not be admitted to women’s competitions,” Ms Meloni said.
“And not because you want to discriminate against someone, but to protect the right of female athletes to be able to compete on equal terms.”