J.K. Rowling and Elon Musk have joined a growing chorus of critics challenging the Olympic Committee's decision to allow Algeria’s Imane Khelif to compete in the women’s boxing category at the Paris 2024 Games. The controversy centers on Khelif’s gender eligibility, which has sparked debate following her disqualification from last year’s Women’s World Championships due to elevated testosterone levels.

Khelif’s recent match against Italy’s Angela Carini ended abruptly when Carini, after enduring several punches, chose to withdraw for safety reasons. In a tearful post-match interview with the BBC, Carini described the experience as heart-wrenching, stating, “It could have been the match of a lifetime, but I had to preserve my life as well in that moment.”

The debate intensified when Rowling, a vocal critic of gender identity issues, shared a photo of the post-match scene on X (formerly Twitter). The image depicted Carini in distress with Khelif attempting to comfort her. Rowling’s caption read, “Could any picture sum up our new men’s rights movement better? The smirk of a male who’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.

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