Forty-six seconds into her match against Algeria's Imane Khelif, Italian boxer Angela Carini abandoned the bout. She left the ring in tears, but the result also caused a huge uproar on social media, with many accusing authorities of "allowing a man", referring to Imane, to compete in the women's category.
British author and philanthropist JK Rowling called the sporting establishment “misogynist.”
“Could any picture sum up our new men's rights movement better? The smirk of a male who knows he's protected by a misogynist sporting establishment enjoying the distress of a woman he's just punched in the head, and whose life's ambition he's just shattered,” read the post shared by JK Rowling on X (formerly Twitter).
Former professional boxer Barry McGuigan also took a dig at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for its alleged insensitivity towards women. “Shocking dangerous and profoundly unfair on Women & Girls. IOC hang you head in shame,” McGuigan wrote.
Elon Musk shared former American competitive swimmer Riley Gaines' post that claimed “men don't belong in women's sports.” Musk reacted to the post by writing, “Absolutely.”
However, there were many who defended Imane and said she was born woman and had not undergone any gender-affirming surgery.
"Stop spreading false information to stir up hatred, if you want to write fiction do another book on wizards," read a comment under Ms Rowling's tweet.
Another social media user pointed out that Imane Khelif was a female-born woman fighter, perfectly eligible to compete in women's sports from a gender point of view. "She's born a female, please do not belittle her achievement as a woman and call her a man. It's not right. This mass misinformation needs to stop," the post read.
"She is a biological woman," read another comment
This social media user suggested people research before tweeting abuse.
Imane Khelif is an amateur boxer who clinched a silver medal at the International Boxing Association's 2022 World Championships. Khelif is one of the two boxers permitted to fight at the Olympics despite being disqualified from the women's world championships last year for allegedly failing gender eligibility tests.
According to the Associated Press, the International Boxing Association disqualified Imane from last year's championships right before the Algerian's gold-medal bout because of elevated levels of testosterone. Khelif will next feature in a quarterfinal bout against Hungary's Anna Luca Hamori on Saturday.
