Rory O'Callaghan
British boxing expert Steve Bunce has revealed what rival fighters have said about Imane Khelif being allowed to compete at the Olympic Games in Paris.
Khelif was at the centre of a hugely controversy incident on Thursday when her first round welterweight opponent Angela Carini withdrew from their bout after just 46 seconds.
Carini decided that she could no longer continue after being rocked by two punches from Khelif in the opening exchanges of their fight at the North Paris Arena.
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The involvement of Algerian fighter Khelif and Taiwan's double world champion Lin Yu-ting in this year's Olympics has prompted fierce debate, with the pair disqualified from last year's World Championships after failing gender eligibility tests.
Khelif was disqualified hours before her gold medal bout at the Championships in New Delhi after she failed to meet the International Boxing Association's (IBA) eligibility criteria, with the BBC reporting that she failed a testosterone level test.
Reuters report that at the time IBA president Umar Kremlev told Russian news agency TASS that both Khelif and Lin had "XY chromosomes".
However, the Russian-led IBA has long faced questions about its governance and in June of last year was stripped of its status as the sport's world governing body by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
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As a result, the boxing competition at the 2024 Olympics is instead being overseen by another body, the Paris Boxing Unit (PBU), which approved both Khelif and Lin to take part in the Games.
Speaking after withdrawing from Thursday's fight, Carini explained why she had pulled out of the bout after initially agreeing to fight.
"I have always honoured my country with loyalty," she said. "This time I didn't succeed because I couldn't fight anymore.
"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.
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"I said 'that's enough' because... I could not bring the match to an end. So I thought, maybe it's better to put an end to the match."
British boxing expert Bunce says he "feels" for both Carini and Khelif and claims not all female fighters are opposed to the Algerian taking part.
"I think it has hurt Olympic boxing at a crucial time where its future is still being discussed. It's an absolute disaster," Bunce told the BBC.
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"What's interesting is in the build up to the fight, some of her old opponents, good fighters, world champions and European champions, have said [Khelif] is not a cheat.
"She's not a devastating puncher, that is only her fifth stoppage.
"Carini, I feel for her absolutely, but you have to feel a little bit for Khelif, she's stuck in the middle of something here that's absolutely devastating and it's not over yet."
Khelif moves on to the quarter-finals of the women's welterweight competition, with her next fight scheduled for Saturday against an opponent who is yet to be confirmed.