Italian boxer Angela Carini, who deserted her Olympic bout in opposition to Algeria’s Imane Khelif inside 46 seconds, says she “needs to apologise” to her opponent for a way she dealt with the moments after the combat.
Khelif is one among two athletes who’ve been cleared to compete within the ladies’s boxing in Paris, regardless of having been disqualified from final yr’s Ladies’s World Championships for failing to satisfy eligibility standards.
The 25-year-old’s participation within the Video games has proved controversial, main the Worldwide Olympic Committee (IOC) to defend her proper to compete.
“All this controversy makes me unhappy,” Carini instructed Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport.
“I am sorry for my opponent, too. If the IOC stated she will combat, I respect that call.”
Carini, additionally 25, stated abandoning the combat had been a mature step to take, however she expressed remorse at not shaking fingers with Khelif afterwards.
“It wasn’t one thing I meant to do,” Carini stated. “Truly, I wish to apologise to her and everybody else. I used to be offended as a result of my Olympics had gone up in smoke.”
She added that if she met Khelif once more, she would “embrace her”.