Forty-six seconds. That’s how long an Italian female boxer lasted in her match at the Paris Olympics before retiring from a bout against an Algerian fighter embroiled in an eligibility controversy.

Twenty-five-year-old Imane Khalif was cleared to compete at the 2024 Olympics despite previously failing an unspecified testosterone level test.

The Thursday contest between the mismatched fighters highlighted the ongoing debate about athletes with abnormally high testosterone levels or other male characteristics competing in women’s sports categories.

During the women’s 66kg clash, Angela Carini was seen going to her corner twice—first to adjust her headgear after taking a punch to the face, and then to retire from the bout after 46 seconds.

After the match, a devastated Carini told Italy’s ASNA: “I’m used to suffering. I’ve never taken a punch like that; it’s impossible to continue. I’m nobody to say it’s illegal.

“I got into the ring to fight. But I didn’t feel like it anymore after the first minute. I started to feel a strong pain in my nose. I didn’t give up, but a punch hurt too much, so I said enough. I’m leaving with my head held high.”

The referee declared Khalif the winner, but Carini refused to acknowledge her opponent. She fell to her knees in tears as she processed the end of her Olympic dream against an opponent cleared to fight by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Khalif will advance to the next round of the women’s 66-kilogram division, but her victory is mired in controversy.

Fox News reported that Khalif was disqualified from the 2023 World Boxing Championships after the International Boxing Association determined she failed gender tests. According to Reuters, Khalif was found to have elevated testosterone levels.

IBA President Umar Kremlev explained the decision at the time, stating that DNA tests identified athletes posing as women by having XY chromosomes, leading to their exclusion from competition.

Despite the controversy, the IOC cleared Khalif to compete, and the Algerian Olympic Committee (COA) defended her against the criticism leading up to Thursday’s bout.

The COA condemned what it called unethical targeting and baseless propaganda against Khalif from certain foreign media outlets, asserting that these attacks were deeply unfair as she prepared for the pinnacle of her career at the Olympics.

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, who visited Italy’s athletes in the Olympic Village on Thursday, criticized the situation, stating that in an attempt to avoid discrimination, women’s rights might actually be compromised.

Meloni added that it was concerning that there could be suspicion, or more than a suspicion, of an unfair and potentially dangerous contest for one of the contenders at the Olympics, an event symbolizing sporting fairness.