PARIS - Italian boxer Angela Carini, who abandoned her welterweight round of 16 bout against Algeria's Imane Khelif after 46 seconds at the Paris Olympics on Thursday, says she does not consider the boxing bout as a defeat.
Carini's opponent Khelif has been in the spotlight for failing a gender eligibility test at a tournament last year.
The World Championships silver medallist was disqualified hours before her gold medal bout at the worlds in New Delhi when she failed to meet the International Boxing Association's (IBA) eligibility criteria.
She was, however, ruled eligible to compete in the boxing competition at the Paris Olympics, which is being organised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
In Thursday's bout, Carini went to her coach after 30 seconds to fix her headgear but after briefly resuming the fight returned to her corner and stopped, quickly leaving the ring.
She later explained that she had decided not to fight after feeling intense pain in her nose.
"For me, it's not a defeat. For me, when you climb those ropes, you're already a warrior, you're already a winner," Carini said.
"Regardless of everything it's okay, fine like this. I didn't lose tonight ... I only did my job as a fighter. I got in the ring, and I fought. I didn't make it. I'm coming out with my head held high and with a broken heart.
"I'm a mature woman. The ring is my life. I've always been very instinctive. And when I feel that something isn't right, it's not giving up. It's having the maturity to stop. It's having the maturity to say, 'OK, that's enough'."
Carini's bout with Khelif has been the topic of much discussion in Italy, with the nation's Family Minister Eugenia Roccella and Sports Minister Andrea Abodi voicing concern about the eligibility rules on Wednesday.
Asked if she felt burdened by the discourse, Carini said: "I didn't. For me, they weren't things that stopped me or blocked me mentally.
"I got in the ring, and I said, I'm going to give it all I've got, regardless of the person in front of me, who doesn't interest me at this moment.
"I had to give my best. So, regarding all the controversies, I was never interested. I went in and I just wanted to win."
Some sports have limited the levels of testosterone allowed for athletes competing in women’s competition, while others ban everyone who has been through male puberty.
Taiwanese double world champion Lin Yu-ting also lost her bronze medal at last year’s World Championships after she failed to meet the criteria. Lin will face Uzbekistan’s Sitora Turdibekova in a featherweight bout in Paris on Friday.
Neither Khelif nor Lin have ever identified as men, as transgender, or as intersex, which refers to people with both male and female sex characteristics, according to an article in Time magazine.
