What led to the bitter controversy over an Olympics boxing match?
A mighty punch by an Algerian boxer has revived a politically charged dispute
THE BEST boxing matches often go to the final bell. But in the opening round of a women’s welterweight (66kg) contest at the Olympics, Angela Carini, an Italian boxer, abandoned her bout against Algeria’s Imane Khelif after taking a hard right hand to the head, just 46 seconds in. Ms Carini wept, refused to shake hands, said “it’s not right!” in the ring and said she believed her life was in danger, though the next day the Gazzetta dello Sport, an Italian paper, reported that she later apologised to Ms Khelif and said she would embrace her the next time she saw her.
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