The Paris Olympics are engulfed in controversy after Algerian boxer Imane Khelif caused Italy’s Angela Carini to quit just 46 seconds into their preliminary match on Thursday, but Khelif’s next opponent is undaunted.
Anna Luca Hamori, the first Hungarian Olympic boxer, faces Khelif in the quarterfinals Saturday and expressed that she has no fear.
Khelif’s Olympics entry has become a hot story after she was disqualified at the 2023 world championships “after her elevated levels of testosterone failed to meet the eligibility criteria,” according to the International Olympics Committee (IOC) database.
“I’m not scared,” Hamori told reporters. “I don’t care about the press story and social media. If she or he is a man, it will be a bigger victory for me if I win.”
An IOC spokesperson previously said Khelif is eligible for the Olympics as her passport says that she is a woman.
The same standard applied to Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, who was also disqualified from the 2023 World Championship.
“Everyone competing in the women’s category is complying with the competition eligibility rules,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams said Tuesday. “They are women in their passports and it’s stated that this is the case, that they are female.”
There are different standards at the Olympics and World Championships as the IOC had a falling out with the Russia-controlled IBA, which sanctions the world championships.
Hamori handily defeated Marissa Williamson Pohlman of Australia in her latest fight.
She said she has avoided learning much about the controversy as it would be a distraction in her quest for gold.
“I’m trying to not use my phone before the fight,” Hamori said. “I don’t want to care about the comments or the story or the news. I just want to stay focused on myself. I did it before my last two fights, so I think this is the key, and we will see.”
Her opponent, Khelif, enters the fight off a dominant win.
Carini said Khelif’s punches were the hardest she’s faced in her life.
“I’m used to suffering,” Carini said after withdrawing from the fight, as she fought off tears. “I’ve never taken a punch like that, it’s impossible to continue. I’m nobody to say it’s illegal.
“I got into the ring to fight. But I didn’t feel like it anymore after the first minute. I started to feel a strong pain in my nose. I didn’t give up, but a punch hurt too much and so I said enough. I’m leaving with my head held high.”
Hamori found it hard to understand Carini’s decision to quit.
“It was her choice,” Hamori said. “I don’t understand, because I thought every boxer’s mind is the same like mine, to never give up. But it was her choice. We don’t know what was the reason. It’s her life, but I know I want to do this in my own life.”
