Olympic boxer who quit match against Imane Khelif reveals alleged online abuse

Italian women’s boxer Angela Carini alleged she has suffered online abuse in the aftermath of her infamous defeat to Algeria’s Imane Khelif at the Paris Olympics last summer. Carini quit her Olympic bout against Khelif after just 46 seconds, as images of the Algerian’s punches against Carini shook viewers across the world.Khelif, who previously failed sex eligibility tests for another international competition, went on to win gold. The incident prompted global backlash from advocates for protecting women’s sports, especially after Carini quit her match and cried to reporters about the pain she felt from Khelif’s punches. On Thursday, Carini published a video on Instagram with screenshots of messages of abuse she has received on social media — some begging her not to go to the Olympics again, others calling her “a coward” and “the shame of the Italy team” — and a voiceover of the 26-year-old explaining how she felt.“Have you ever wondered how hard it was for me to face these words? What I had to endure and endure day after day? What I had to face in my silence, while preserving my health from a stupid social network, from people who speak and say words without thinking twice?” Carini said.“Because for them it’s just a sentence, it’s just a word, it’s just fun, it’s just wanting to follow the crowd.”Carini’s decision to quit the fight fueled a discussion far beyond Paris about whether Khelif should have been allowed to compete, with President Donald Trump and Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni speaking out.She said the incident has “destroyed” her career.“For many it is easy to forget the past, but for me it wasn’t,” Carini said in her video.

“That past that marked my life.That past that left wounds inside me that I try to heal day after day, but like an infected wound, it bleeds and hurts.“That past that changed and destroyed my career, built year after year with sacrifices, dedication, tenacity and a lot of pass...