Italian boxer Angela Carini said she was in “extreme pain” and had “never felt a punch like this” after her preliminary round of 16 bout against Algerian Imane Khelif was abandoned after just 46 seconds.

The build-up to the fight was marred by controversy following the inclusion of Khelif, who was one of two athletes cleared to compete in the women’s boxing after being disqualified from last year’s Women’s World Boxing Championships in New Delhi for failing to meet the necessary gender eligibility criteria.

Khelif throwing a punch at Carini
Khelif in action against Carini (AP Photo/John Locher)

During Thursday’s match, Khelif landed a few good shots, including a huge punch to Carini’s face.

The Italian then went over to her corner and subsequently signalled that she was unable to carry on due to pain in her nose, leading to the fight being abandoned with two minutes and 14 seconds left in the first round.

Her coach, Emanuele Renzini, said afterwards: “She felt pain in her nose and said to me ‘I don’t want to fight anymore’.”

Carini was pictured in floods of tears afterwards and said she was unable to continue for her health.

She said: “It hurt so much. 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.

Angela Carini reacting in the ring
Angela Carini was in tears post-fight (AP Photo/John Locher)

“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.

“I went to my corner and raised my hand and said I’d had enough because my nose hurt so much.

“I’ve always gone into the ring with honour, I’ve always fought for my country, loyally, but this time I couldn’t as I wasn’t able to fight anymore.”

Khelif has previously competed at Tokyo 2020, but finished just outside of the medal positions.

Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting is the other fighter who also had questions raised about her eligibility for the Games.

Imane Khelif post-fight in the boxing ring with her headguard and gloves off
Khelif has progressed to the next round of the competition (AP Photo/John Locher)

She faces Sitora Turdibekova in the women’s 57kg category on Friday.

In a joint statement on Thursday evening, the IOC and Paris 2024 Boxing Unit said both athletes have complied with eligibility rules, citing “misleading information” in some reports and what it called an “arbitrary” decision by the IBA last year to disqualify the pair from the World Championships “without due process”.

It said: “Every person has the right to practise sport without discrimination.

“Eligibility rules should not be changed during ongoing competition, and any rule change must follow appropriate processes and should be based on scientific evidence.

“The IOC is committed to protecting the human rights of all athletes participating in the Olympic Games as per the Olympic Charter, the IOC Code of Ethics and the IOC Strategic Framework on Human Rights. The IOC is saddened by the abuse that the two athletes are currently receiving.”

Renzini insisted that Carini was adamant ahead of the fight that she would face Khelif for as long as she could.

He said: “It would have been easier not to show up, because all of Italy had been asking her not to fight for days. But Angela was motivated and wanted to do it.

“Of course when she met her opponent at the draw, she said ‘it’s not fair’.

“But there was no premeditation here today. She quit after taking one punch, she told me she didn’t feel she could fight.

“I tried to tell her to at least get to the end of the first round so we would fight, but she wouldn’t.”