"I don't know if her nose is broke" - Angela Carini's coach speaks after Italian withdraws from 'dangerous' fight with Imane Khelif at Paris Olympics

The coach of the Italian boxer Angela Carini, who abandoned her match against the controversial boxer Imane Khelif of Algeria, shared an update on his pupil's injury and the reason for her withdrawal. Carini had to halt her Paris Olympics Round-of-16 fight against her Algerian counterpart on Thursday after she was hurt badly on the nose.

The 25-year-old Naples native emphasized that she had just abandoned the match and did not consider it a defeat.

30 seconds into her fight, Carini went to her coach to fix her headgear. The two had a brief discussion and after 46 seconds in the ring, the Italian decided to not continue the match, further adding to Imane Khelif's controversial career.

Khelif made headlines during the 2023 World Championships where she was denied permission to participate in the competition after she failed to meet the gender eligibility criteria due to high testosterone levels. However, the boxer was granted permission by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to participate in the Paris Olympics where her fight against Carini garnered scrutiny from fans all over the world.

Angela Carini's coach Emanuele Renzini has provided an update on the incident. Sean Ingle, the chief sports reporter and columnist at The Guardian, made a tweet on Thursday where he quoted Renzini's statement, writing:

"Carini's coach in the mixed zone: “I don’t know if her nose is broken. I have to speak with the girl. But many people in Italy tried to call and tell her: “Don’t go please: it’s a man, it’s dangerous for you.”"

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Angela Carini's comments on withdrawing from the match

IBA Women's World Boxing Championships Istanbul 2022 - Source: Getty

Her Paris Olympics campaign was cut short in the unfortunate incident leading to her withdrawal. Speaking about her bout, Carini stated (as quoted by The Guardian):

"I have always honored my country with loyalty. This time I didn’t succeed because I couldn’t fight anymore."

She added:

"I put an end to the match because after the second blow, after years of experience in the ring and a life of fighting, I felt a strong pain in my nose. It’s not a defeat for me, for me if you go in the ring you have already won, regardless of everything else."

Angela Carini further added that she was not there to judge and that it was not her place to decide whether the outcome of her match was fair or unfair.