Karini withdrew after only 46 seconds of her fight against Iman Khalif, which took place today, Thursday, in the round of 16 of the welterweight boxing competition, but she said that she does not consider herself defeated.
Iman Khalif, 25, has been in the spotlight since she was disqualified just hours before her gold medal match at the women’s world championships in New Delhi last year, after failing to meet the International Boxing Federation’s eligibility criteria that prevents athletes with male chromosomes from competing in women’s competition.
However, the International Olympic Committee, which organized the boxing competitions in the Paris Games, allowed its participation in the Olympics.
Karini, who is six centimetres shorter than Iman, turned to her coach after 30 seconds to have her head guard re-adjusted but after the fight resumed she returned to her corner and stopped the match before quickly leaving the ring.
Asked about the secret of the quick withdrawal, Carini told the Italian network “Sport Media Set”: “I received very strong punches, and I did not feel like moving forward.”
“I no longer felt like fighting after the first minute. I felt a strong pain in my nose. It is not my habit to give up, but I could not continue, so I put an end to the match,” she added. When asked about whether it was an unequal match, she replied, “I do not judge anyone.”
She continued: “For me, it is not a defeat. When you step on the ring, you are already a warrior and a winner.”
“Regardless of everything, it’s fine as it is now. I didn’t lose tonight, I just did my job as a boxer, I got in the ring and fought, I didn’t win, but I leave with my head held high and my heart broken,” she continued.
“I am a mature woman,” Angela Carini concluded. “The ring is my life. I have always used my intuition when I feel something is not right. It is not about giving up. I am mature enough to stop and mature enough to say, ‘OK, that’s enough.’”
Source: Media
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2024-08-02 03:33:57
